Saturday, May 30, 2009
Giro di Italia
Today I got to see my first professional bike race, and it was the 100th Anniversary of the Giro di Italia (Ride of Italy). First impresstions: I was overwhelmed with how fast the racers were riding, and equally impressed with how tight of a formation they could hold in the Peleton. There must have been close to 100 riders in the span of the average city bus. What was interesting about the experience, though, was how underwhelming it was... Remember the scene from Indiana Jones (raiders of the lost arc) where an arab swordsman threatens Indy for at least a minute, with intricate sword swirls and such? And Indy just shoots him... All that lead up for a split second, and undramatic finish. Well, ditto for the race. We get off the highway, near our house, and see a crowd formed up where the Poliza have cordoned off the street that they'll be racing on. As time goes by, a number of Poliza cars race by, ensuring the route is clear, and a few vans selling official 'Giro di Italia' t-shirts cruise by. The crowd continues to grow, with an increasing number of the locals buying shirts and such from the 'Giro' vans driving by. To add to the suspense, the crowd down the way starts cheering, just to see an old italian man riding his beater of a bike down the street. Ha! That 'Gotcha' happens a few times. Finally, team vehicles start cruising by, one of the most impressive being the Mavic (French wheel maker) vehicle: an all yellow sports-stationwagon (they don't have these in the States, unfortunately) with all yellow Cannondale racing bikes featuring all yellow Mavic wheels and all yellow seats/saddles. Looked like a chariot of gold. Then more Poliza cars and motorcycles. Then the lead group of cyclists race by, about 20 or so, with the crowd going nuts. About 3 seconds behind the lead group is the main body of the racers. I look frantically for Lance Armstrong in both groups, however my eyes and brain are not able to sort visual data as quickly as the group of cyclist ride by...as all this occurs in less than, oh, 10 seconds. Everyone then hopped in their cars, as the surrounding areas roads had become a parking lot. The area cleared out very quickly; it would have taken at least a half an hour in the states for the drivers to clear the area, but the Italians were able to get back to 'normal' very quickly. Simply amazing to see. Crazy how underwhelming it was, because of the speed involved, and my small perspective of the race. So many kilometers, and I saw mearly a few hundred meters of it. Overall, the experience was great. I'll be there again next year!
Friday, May 29, 2009
I found a couple Italian bike shops. I've been looking for a good bike shop, as my bikes arrived from the US of A in need of some minor repairs. The last shop I found, your standard fare of bike shop, does a great job on repairs. They trued my wheels and adjusted my brakes for about 15 euros, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Interesting thing about the bike shop, was that it took forever to find it. When I searched Google for the shop, it showed me one location, while the shop's website provided yet another location. Both locations that were provided by the internet were about 4 miles off of target! Crazy... I had to talk to locals and call the shop about 12 times to find it. Kind of frustrating, but they do good work, so I made sure to save the location in my GPS so to never lose them again! ...I thought it was interesting though that the bike shop's actual location was so far removed from where the internet placed them. I wonder if the address coding that works so well in the US for locations, isn't quite perfected here. I wonder if parts of the world should be locating business and homes by latitude and longitude. Probably more accurate where the government hasn't spend the time and money to regrid and rename streets for the benefit of GPS direction finding.
Otherwise, the other shop is very unusual, for an American. It's located closer to where I live, and they not only sell bikes manufactured by your standard European bike companies, but they also manufacture and sell their own line of bikes. The shop is pretty small, and they weld frames in the back area. They weld all their bikes out of steel, with a few of the high end road frames including carbon fiber seat/chain stays. I imagine the carbon components are purchased from a supplier and just glued in place. Overall, it's pretty interesting, as they create not only your typical fast looking Italian road bike, but also a slew of other bikes ranging from kids bikes, city bikes, tricycles and large cargo bikes. Pretty cool. Check out their site:
http://www.derosabike.it/
Yep, it's De Rosa bikes. Not the De Rosa you may have seen in the states, though. That De Rosa is from Milano in the north. This is yet another De Rosa di Pozzuoli. Interesting how the European style of manufacturing lives on (vs. American/Mass production), with local craftsmen building product for their local customer base. You'll notice the decal on the bikes highlight the geographic location of manufacture, unlike most products.
Otherwise, the other shop is very unusual, for an American. It's located closer to where I live, and they not only sell bikes manufactured by your standard European bike companies, but they also manufacture and sell their own line of bikes. The shop is pretty small, and they weld frames in the back area. They weld all their bikes out of steel, with a few of the high end road frames including carbon fiber seat/chain stays. I imagine the carbon components are purchased from a supplier and just glued in place. Overall, it's pretty interesting, as they create not only your typical fast looking Italian road bike, but also a slew of other bikes ranging from kids bikes, city bikes, tricycles and large cargo bikes. Pretty cool. Check out their site:
http://www.derosabike.it/
Yep, it's De Rosa bikes. Not the De Rosa you may have seen in the states, though. That De Rosa is from Milano in the north. This is yet another De Rosa di Pozzuoli. Interesting how the European style of manufacturing lives on (vs. American/Mass production), with local craftsmen building product for their local customer base. You'll notice the decal on the bikes highlight the geographic location of manufacture, unlike most products.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Include Music with your Ride: Homemade Speaker from iPod Earbuds
I really enjoy listening to music, and I thought that injecting music into my bike rides would provide me with more opportunities to listen to music. However, I didn't want to use earphones or earbuds, as they would eliminate any ability to hear traffic, or other surrounding sounds. This was a concern for both safety associated with hearing things around me and the enjoyment of listening to nature.
So, I figured I could get an iPod Shuffle, and hook it up to an external speaker that would allow me to listen to music without completely cutting off the rest of the world's sounds. As I looked at external speakers, I noticed that some of them took batteries, while others ran off of the iPod's power. I didn't want to have the added complexity of needing batteries, so that ruled out the battery powered/amplified speaker. And, as I considered the other external speaker option, I figured I could arrange the stock iPod earbuds to work as an external speaker. By modifying the earbuds into speakers I'd save some money and probably get a solution that would better fit my needs!
I started by cutting cardboard into a small rectangular shape, slightly smaller than the iPod Shuffle. I figured, that when the wires were wrapped around the cardboard, the final shape would be equal in size to the Shuffle. I once saw a carpenter wrap a long power cord on a rectangular piece of plywood that had V-shaped dents cut into it, ensuring the cord would have plenty of surface area to gather. I borrowed this idea for my small piece of cardboard, trimming concave 'dents' into the short sides of the cardboard. These dents will ensure that the wire will have a place to gather, and not uncoil off the ends. I started wrapping the wire by placing the earbuds on the cardboard, and used the wires to secure both of the earbuds together and onto the cardboard. I left about a foot of wire loose at the end, ensuring the wire would reach to it's final destination: the Shuffle. After the wires were securely wrapped and the earbuds arranged on the cardboard, I wrapped the entire bundle in electrical tape, which will keep the wire from unraveling and keep the earbuds in place. The tape will also provide some protection from the elements. I temporarily secured the new 'speaker' to the shoulder strap of my hydration pack using a short velcro strap (which incidentally came with an old bike pump) and ran the wire down toward the Shuffle which temporarily clamps onto the shoulder strap.
The entire setup works great. I can easily adjust the volume and navigate songs while riding the bike, thanks mainly to the placement of the Shuffle's raised control surface that allows me to differentiate 'play/pause', 'volume', and 'advance/rewind' all by touch. The speakers are located too far back while standing, however when riding, they are located perfectly, just behind the ear. Now I can hear my music as well as the surrounding noise of the world, whether birds or cars, keeping me both in tune and out of trouble.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Latest Video from Carbonari Bikers!
Their ride on the 11th of January on Mount Vesuvius. Funny crashes at the beginning of the video. ;)
It wasn't a Job, It was a (Mountain Biking) Adventure!
I was thinking the other day, while out on a trail ride, how my military experience provided me the opportunity to ride my bike in some great places. I've been able to ride in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, and Iraq. Great times, and fun memories.
One of the strangest bike related memories is actually from southern Iraq, where I remember seeing an Iraqi man talking with a British soldier. The Iraqi man had a bicycle, and the bicycle was all tricked out with mirrors and reflective tape. I'm interested if the Arabs have a term for outfitting his 'ride' that way. It's clear, from a western perspective, that he "pimped" his bike! The closest thing I have seen to it is a 'scrapper' bike. This guy's bike was definitely unofficial, cool, and he was proud of the thing.
"Scrapper Bike" by the Trunk Boiz
And that bike stood out, because you didn't see too many bikes in Iraq or Kuwait. They got oil coming out of the ground: why ride a bike? A motorbike! ...I guess that may be their mindset.
While there may not have been many locals on bicycles in Iraq, I did have an opportunity to ride quite a bit while I was there for a year. My unit was pretty heavily tasked, with a lot of very important missions. One of the results of our focus and high operational tempo was that there were few motor-vehicles available for driving around base. To get to meetings, network with other military leaders, and just get around, you really had to do it with your own two feet. I always liked riding my bike to work in the civilian world, so I didn't mind riding a bike to get around base. In fact it was kind of fun. I bought a used bike from the officer I replaced, and rapidly destroyed it. Actually, the environment of southern Iraq destroyed it. What was a multi-speed bike quickly became a single speed bike, as the dust and sand rapidly degraded any shifting capability. So, I manually put it into a gear that was good for cruising and starting/stopping, and left it there. Single speed in the desert! (By default) I ended up going through two bikes while I was there, both serving me well. I ended up getting a bike helmet, as it was lighter than my Kevlar helmet, and got to meetings a lot quicker than if I was walking. Fun times! Really!
The military also provided me the opportunity to ride out west a bit, too. I took my mountain bike to Fort Leavenworth, once. That was great. What a beautiful post. Probably one of the prettiest places I've been, with great mountain bike trails, too. Excellent riding there. The exercise I was taking part in ended, and I was also able to ride downtown Kansas City, in the city as well as on some nearby urban off road trails.
Photo of me showin' mad skills in downtown KC!
I would also have to go out to Arizona for training every few years, and would take the opportunity to stop off in Moab, Utah, where mountain biking is at its best. I would usually ride the Slickrock trail, as it was a trail that is a lot of fun to ride, with characteristics that are hard to find anywhere else. I am also very comfortable on the trail, as I was often riding alone, and didn't want to combine 'solitary' with 'injury', as that combination often becomes deadly in the great outdoors. One time in particular was very memorable, as the weather is usually very clear and warm in Moab. I was riding in October, and met up with a small group of German tourists that were also riding the trail. In the middle of the Slickrock loop we were hit with a snowstorm! Visibility dropped to almost nothing, as the trail exists on top of a plateau. We all got off the trail fine, and hit the local Mexican restaurant.
Photo of me riding on Slickrock in the midst of a snowstorm with some German friends I met along the way:
verrücktfuckingunerbittlichecrazyschneesturm!
Awesome panoramic shot taken near moab along the Colorado River:
One time while on the way back from some "Army Training" in Arizona, I stopped off in Vail, Colorado, where I had the opportunity to do some 'Free Riding'. That is, mountain biking that solely consists of downhill riding...that's right, no uphill climbing involved. Cheating you say? Have you seen the Rockies? This mid-west kid needs some lungs! Giving the resort $30 allowed you to have an all day lift ticket, which was practical, as a 3 hour ride is usually all you can handle when you're riding up and down hill. But when all you have to do is cruise down the mountain, it's a lot like downhill skiing: you can do it all day! Anyway, I had a blast. Had I not broken my bike frame (at the junction of the top tube and seat tube!) I probably would have ridden longer. Either way: great time and worth the 30 bones. Great camping, too, just up the street at Gore Creek. Cheap, considering you are in one of the highest rent districts in the US (Vail!)
Ah yes, this lift behind me will drag my lazy @$$ up the mountain so I can coast down like a Mountain Dew commercial on repeat!
Arizona was a blast, too. I was lucky enough to be in the midst of the mountains of Southern Arizona, where hiking and biking were right at my doorstep or a short drive. Brown Canyon was by far the best; a fun loop that meanders up the canyon, and finally dumps you back onto a service road that provides a few miles of downhill. Just a great ride! Fondest memory of that trail is a time I was riding with a classmate there, and he had the sudden urge to do #2! So he runs off the trail, comes back a short time later with a neat little square missing from the bottom corner of his T-shirt! Funny! Good times. Thanks Pete!
...to top that story: the next day was Sunday. We decide to hike up Miller Canyon. About 3/4 the way up we take a break, and we see not one, but FOUR mountain LIONS! All of about ~50' from us! Crazy! I'm in the Army: where's my gun, rifle, artillery piece, anything explosive to throw at these things?!?! Bad situation as the little kitties were not only evolutionarily designed to gobble up unarmed homo-sapiens like myself, but were also outnumbering us by a factor of 2-1. Nuts. Seeing them in the wild was truly something I will never forget, or how they jumped atop a large granite spire like my cat jumps on top the couch. Luckily they decided to leave us alone... We finished the climb and the decent without further incident.
#&%^! Did you see those cats! I notice your shirt's advertising Cuervo...I'll need a shot of that after this adventure is thru!!!
Panoramic shot atop the peak after climbing up Miller Canyon:
My point to all this: my service in the military provided me an excellent opportunity to see the country, and perhaps the world.
Next stop: Italia and Europe!
One of the strangest bike related memories is actually from southern Iraq, where I remember seeing an Iraqi man talking with a British soldier. The Iraqi man had a bicycle, and the bicycle was all tricked out with mirrors and reflective tape. I'm interested if the Arabs have a term for outfitting his 'ride' that way. It's clear, from a western perspective, that he "pimped" his bike! The closest thing I have seen to it is a 'scrapper' bike. This guy's bike was definitely unofficial, cool, and he was proud of the thing.
"Scrapper Bike" by the Trunk Boiz
And that bike stood out, because you didn't see too many bikes in Iraq or Kuwait. They got oil coming out of the ground: why ride a bike? A motorbike! ...I guess that may be their mindset.
While there may not have been many locals on bicycles in Iraq, I did have an opportunity to ride quite a bit while I was there for a year. My unit was pretty heavily tasked, with a lot of very important missions. One of the results of our focus and high operational tempo was that there were few motor-vehicles available for driving around base. To get to meetings, network with other military leaders, and just get around, you really had to do it with your own two feet. I always liked riding my bike to work in the civilian world, so I didn't mind riding a bike to get around base. In fact it was kind of fun. I bought a used bike from the officer I replaced, and rapidly destroyed it. Actually, the environment of southern Iraq destroyed it. What was a multi-speed bike quickly became a single speed bike, as the dust and sand rapidly degraded any shifting capability. So, I manually put it into a gear that was good for cruising and starting/stopping, and left it there. Single speed in the desert! (By default) I ended up going through two bikes while I was there, both serving me well. I ended up getting a bike helmet, as it was lighter than my Kevlar helmet, and got to meetings a lot quicker than if I was walking. Fun times! Really!
The military also provided me the opportunity to ride out west a bit, too. I took my mountain bike to Fort Leavenworth, once. That was great. What a beautiful post. Probably one of the prettiest places I've been, with great mountain bike trails, too. Excellent riding there. The exercise I was taking part in ended, and I was also able to ride downtown Kansas City, in the city as well as on some nearby urban off road trails.
Photo of me showin' mad skills in downtown KC!
I would also have to go out to Arizona for training every few years, and would take the opportunity to stop off in Moab, Utah, where mountain biking is at its best. I would usually ride the Slickrock trail, as it was a trail that is a lot of fun to ride, with characteristics that are hard to find anywhere else. I am also very comfortable on the trail, as I was often riding alone, and didn't want to combine 'solitary' with 'injury', as that combination often becomes deadly in the great outdoors. One time in particular was very memorable, as the weather is usually very clear and warm in Moab. I was riding in October, and met up with a small group of German tourists that were also riding the trail. In the middle of the Slickrock loop we were hit with a snowstorm! Visibility dropped to almost nothing, as the trail exists on top of a plateau. We all got off the trail fine, and hit the local Mexican restaurant.
Photo of me riding on Slickrock in the midst of a snowstorm with some German friends I met along the way:
verrücktfuckingunerbittlichecrazyschneesturm!
Awesome panoramic shot taken near moab along the Colorado River:
One time while on the way back from some "Army Training" in Arizona, I stopped off in Vail, Colorado, where I had the opportunity to do some 'Free Riding'. That is, mountain biking that solely consists of downhill riding...that's right, no uphill climbing involved. Cheating you say? Have you seen the Rockies? This mid-west kid needs some lungs! Giving the resort $30 allowed you to have an all day lift ticket, which was practical, as a 3 hour ride is usually all you can handle when you're riding up and down hill. But when all you have to do is cruise down the mountain, it's a lot like downhill skiing: you can do it all day! Anyway, I had a blast. Had I not broken my bike frame (at the junction of the top tube and seat tube!) I probably would have ridden longer. Either way: great time and worth the 30 bones. Great camping, too, just up the street at Gore Creek. Cheap, considering you are in one of the highest rent districts in the US (Vail!)
Ah yes, this lift behind me will drag my lazy @$$ up the mountain so I can coast down like a Mountain Dew commercial on repeat!
Arizona was a blast, too. I was lucky enough to be in the midst of the mountains of Southern Arizona, where hiking and biking were right at my doorstep or a short drive. Brown Canyon was by far the best; a fun loop that meanders up the canyon, and finally dumps you back onto a service road that provides a few miles of downhill. Just a great ride! Fondest memory of that trail is a time I was riding with a classmate there, and he had the sudden urge to do #2! So he runs off the trail, comes back a short time later with a neat little square missing from the bottom corner of his T-shirt! Funny! Good times. Thanks Pete!
...to top that story: the next day was Sunday. We decide to hike up Miller Canyon. About 3/4 the way up we take a break, and we see not one, but FOUR mountain LIONS! All of about ~50' from us! Crazy! I'm in the Army: where's my gun, rifle, artillery piece, anything explosive to throw at these things?!?! Bad situation as the little kitties were not only evolutionarily designed to gobble up unarmed homo-sapiens like myself, but were also outnumbering us by a factor of 2-1. Nuts. Seeing them in the wild was truly something I will never forget, or how they jumped atop a large granite spire like my cat jumps on top the couch. Luckily they decided to leave us alone... We finished the climb and the decent without further incident.
#&%^! Did you see those cats! I notice your shirt's advertising Cuervo...I'll need a shot of that after this adventure is thru!!!
Panoramic shot atop the peak after climbing up Miller Canyon:
My point to all this: my service in the military provided me an excellent opportunity to see the country, and perhaps the world.
Next stop: Italia and Europe!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Protest the 29er!
That's 29" mountain bikes, for the uninitiated: meaning that the wheels on the mountain bike are actually 29" in diameter rather than the standard 26".
Supposedly, they are better for riding off road than the mountain bike that typically has 26" wheels because the beach cruisers that were originally converted back in the 1970's to be the first mountain bikes came with them. So, it was a standard that was an accident and was never changed. So some marketing genius figured 30 years was a good period of time to wait and change the standard: for what benefit? Oh, the bike companies can sell a new line of bikes for bike shops to carry (in inventory!...remember, the bike makers make money off the interest that the shops pay on inventory!...just like car makers to dealers.)
While I don't know all the advantages of this larger wheel diameter, I do know the disadvantages associated with this larger, and more importantly, different wheel diameter. The larger diameter wheel will negatively impact your ride, our environment, and the economic well being of bike shop owners.
First, 29ers degrade your ride. Not the individual "ride and feel" associated with a bike, but rather your riding experience. 29ers make it more difficult for a large cycling group to benefit from common components. Imagine being out in the wilderness riding your bike with some friends, and a few of you have flats. Imagine you're the only one with a different wheel diameter. You've lost any potential 'economies of scale' by selecting a non-standard tube, tire, and wheel, as everyone in your mtnbike party will have extra tubes and such, but nothing to fit your goofy bike. So, 29ers add complexity to your ride and decrease the potential benefits of shared/common components associated with a group.
Additionally, 29ers are horrible for the environment. Sound a bit extreme? It's not. When Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, and pals decided to use what was available, not only was this the best decision for the need to share common parts on the "Repack Downhill", but it was also the best thing for the environment, at that time and now. Gary and Joe were recycling old bikes and making them more relevant to their specific needs. Simple modifications allowed them to do amazing things back then. To re-create a new wheel/tire diameter would only make things more complicated (less mechanical quality) and reduce the amount of material that was being reused. By changing standards we've only increased the level of complexity and waste associated with the bike industry. If you want to go simple and green: stay with a 26" wheel.
Bike shops are going to financially hurt from the added complexity of another wheel diameter and product type. Nowadays, with multiple tire, wheel, and tube diameters, we've ensured that bike companies have to make and carry a greater level of inventory of stock, at least twice as much, but more than likely it has some exponential effects. These effects would be seen in the multitude of different bikes available in not just pure 26" or 29" wheel sets, but also combinations of wheel diameters like 29/26. Sound crazy? It is, especially now that China has to make more bikes, tires and tubes. As magazines advertise and market these new products, how many perfectly good 26" bikes will end up in the landfill because of the limited benefit associated with riding a wheel that is 3" taller than the previous standard. And ultimately, bike shops will bear the cost of maintaining increased inventory of parts and bike products associated with the bike manufactures' decision to complicate the bicycle market.
Again, this has negative economic, environmental and ride qualities for all cyclists. Protest the 29er!
While I don't know all the advantages of this larger wheel diameter, I do know the disadvantages associated with this larger, and more importantly, different wheel diameter. The larger diameter wheel will negatively impact your ride, our environment, and the economic well being of bike shop owners.
First, 29ers degrade your ride. Not the individual "ride and feel" associated with a bike, but rather your riding experience. 29ers make it more difficult for a large cycling group to benefit from common components. Imagine being out in the wilderness riding your bike with some friends, and a few of you have flats. Imagine you're the only one with a different wheel diameter. You've lost any potential 'economies of scale' by selecting a non-standard tube, tire, and wheel, as everyone in your mtnbike party will have extra tubes and such, but nothing to fit your goofy bike. So, 29ers add complexity to your ride and decrease the potential benefits of shared/common components associated with a group.
Additionally, 29ers are horrible for the environment. Sound a bit extreme? It's not. When Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, and pals decided to use what was available, not only was this the best decision for the need to share common parts on the "Repack Downhill", but it was also the best thing for the environment, at that time and now. Gary and Joe were recycling old bikes and making them more relevant to their specific needs. Simple modifications allowed them to do amazing things back then. To re-create a new wheel/tire diameter would only make things more complicated (less mechanical quality) and reduce the amount of material that was being reused. By changing standards we've only increased the level of complexity and waste associated with the bike industry. If you want to go simple and green: stay with a 26" wheel.
Bike shops are going to financially hurt from the added complexity of another wheel diameter and product type. Nowadays, with multiple tire, wheel, and tube diameters, we've ensured that bike companies have to make and carry a greater level of inventory of stock, at least twice as much, but more than likely it has some exponential effects. These effects would be seen in the multitude of different bikes available in not just pure 26" or 29" wheel sets, but also combinations of wheel diameters like 29/26. Sound crazy? It is, especially now that China has to make more bikes, tires and tubes. As magazines advertise and market these new products, how many perfectly good 26" bikes will end up in the landfill because of the limited benefit associated with riding a wheel that is 3" taller than the previous standard. And ultimately, bike shops will bear the cost of maintaining increased inventory of parts and bike products associated with the bike manufactures' decision to complicate the bicycle market.
Again, this has negative economic, environmental and ride qualities for all cyclists. Protest the 29er!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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