Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Trials and Trails

   While I wasn’t exactly thrilled with jury duty, the long wait to see if was to be selected (nope) allowed me to gather my thoughts for what I might write about today. During the screening process, when the question was asked whether I had ever been a victim of a crime, I immediately thought about the driver who ran into me and totaled my blue 1988 Cannondale SR500. No charges were filed or anything, but considering how well I had taken care of the bicycle and how close to new condition it was, despite its 20-year age, I think the word “crime” is fairly appropriate.

I have only a couple photos of my Cannondale. Little
brother Mark is getting a faceful of my rear wheel spray
during this wet Philadelphia Bicycle Club race, circa 1992.
   The bicycle had taken most of the impact, which had sent me sprawling across the hood of the SUV. I remember vividly sliding down towards the front bumper with the bike still attached to my feet by the clipless pedals and also how glad I was that the woman driving had hit the brakes before my legs got entangled with the bike going under the vehicle!  
   The driver was very remorseful and struggled to keep her panic to a minimum. She ranted about rushing to her son’s graduation and that she didn’t see me when she turned in order to avoid the traffic at the next intersection. She pulled herself together well enough to ask if there was someone she could call for me. After I relayed my home number, she even spoke briefly to Sue to explain what had happened and that I was okay, before handing over her phone.
   I was quite shaken, and dragged my twisted bicycle to the sidewalk nearby in frustration. I remember the driver's words clearly, “Don’t worry about the bike – I’ll buy you a new one! It's only important that you're okay.”
   It was only days later, when her jerky husband got involved, that all promises where quickly forgotten. With no police report filed on the scene (I’ve learned my lesson with this issue), the opportunity to escape responsibility presented itself, and because the bike held more value in my eyes than anyone else’s, the insurance companies didn’t exactly throw bags of money at me. I kept thinking about justice in this situation – sometimes there simply isn't any.
   I would never say this was a positive experience, but it did change my life for the good, in that I became more aware of what was on the market during my search for a replacement bicycle. I eventually took the opportunity to buy a personal dream bike (or two) and, faced with the cost of maintaining my small collection, decided to learn all necessary skills to do the work myself. As I became a capable “wrench” and handled basic repairs for folks in my community, things flowed into a repair/refurbish/restoration business to keep me occupied when I wasn’t out on the road.

   We were released from the courthouse early enough that I could get in a long afternoon ride. It was a little warmer today, so I planned to take my ‘cross bike out on a loop that included the unpaved surfaces of the Perkiomen Trail and the section of the Schuylkill Trail from Phoenixville back towards my home.

   This is only the third time I’ve taken the Atala out for an extended ride, and I always come away disappointed with how sluggish it feels while traveling on streets. I shouldn’t be surprised, since I was riding on 28 mm knobby tires and the bike weighs nearly twice as much as my Pinarello, especially since I finished its recent overhaul with carbon parts. I found myself thinking of that Motobécane "tank" I sold a couple years ago because of its cumbersome ride quality. To be fair, the Italian build of the Atala is much more graceful, and with much higher quality, lighter-weight steel tubing than that French beast - there really is no comparison!
   My mood changed quickly, as the Atala really shined when I hit the cinders, reminding me of the type of riding for which the bike was intended. The steel frame absorbed so much vibration, of which there would be plenty on some of the Perkiomen Trail's ragged, stony sections. Because of heavy use, portions of the route have been scoured clear of the original cinder. Here the wider tires, solid 32-spoke wheels and gentle rake (see diagram) of the front fork also helped to smooth out the ride, and I was flying along through the woods!

   When I reached the pavement again near Oaks, I wasn't even letting the sluggishness bother me. Now heading on the Schuylkill Trail towards Mont Claire, I decided to try an experiment on a short wooden bridge that crosses a small tributary emptying into the river. Because the pavement joints on each end of the structure are fairly poor, when riding any of my road bikes, I usually hop over the spaces in order to avoid the awful chain slap and other equipment rattling that would normally occur. However, I chose to ride the Atala right over the bumps, and although I certainly felt the jolts, all I heard was a couple soft thumps – meraviglioso!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Free Advice and FREE BIKES!

1. All cyclists should be familiar with LAWS of the road. There are few things more annoying than seeing someone riding towards me, against the flow of traffic. Not only is it in defiance of the laws of physics (cyclist moving toward car + car moving toward cyclist = greater impact), but because the “salmon” (going against the flow) decides to ignore traffic laws, one of us is going to have to swerve closer to car traffic in order to avoid colliding with each other!
   As my frustration has been growing with the number of idiots I encounter riding on the wrong side of the road, I’ve tried not to treat each person as a repeat offender. After all, this is probably the first time I’ve encountered this one particular idiot. In the past I’ve politely gestured with a hand and said, “You should be riding on that side,” but most of the time, the person has just taken this as a “suggestion” and ignored me.
   I was riding on a rural road and pulled alongside someone pedaling on the opposite side of the road in my direction. I looked around to make sure it was clear and gently swerved over to calmly say, “You are supposed to ride with traffic, not against it,” and was met with a blank stare. I went back to my side, and after about a mile I looked back to see Mr. Idiot still on his merry way, still on his path to stupidity.
   The other day I tried to keep my anger level down when I saw another directionally challenged friend, sat up and spread my arms wide to get his attention. Then, like a traffic cop, I motioned both arms toward the other side of the road and in an over-authoritative voice, “You are supposed to ride with traffic.” Again, the blank stare and the continued wrong-way route!
   I nearly went ballistic just a few minutes later when I saw a woman with no helmet (strike one) riding towards me (strike two) with headphones on (strike three), and just when I realized she wouldn’t hear me even if I did say something, she swerved onto the sidewalk. I know there is no strike four, but hey, you aren’t eight years old, you shouldn’t be cycling on a sidewalk unless you are accompanying an eight-year-old, and in some municipalities riding on the sidewalk is against the law!
   And just because someone out there might be thinking, “What’s the harm of riding on a sidewalk?”, I’ll give you a perfect illustration why it’s a bad idea. Some time ago I was pulling out of the Bikesport (of all places!) parking lot, turning right. I was looking to the left at the approaching traffic for an opening, and then I glanced back to the right as I started to push the gas pedal. All of a sudden a teen with a dazed expression jumped down off of the sidewalk on his BMX bike right in front of me, and he made a four-inch (I’m making a generous estimation) clearance of my bumper - dude almost became a hood ornament!

2. All cyclists should be familiar with ETIQUETTE of the road. After seeing a collision Saturday morning during Sue’s triathlon, precisely because of this (poorly handled) situation, I was reminded how important it is to communicate when passing and that it should always be done to the left.
   While riding in New York City last week, we were heading towards Battery Park on the Hudson River Greenway, which is a fantastic cycling-dedicated paved trail. The Greenway includes mini-traffic signals, lit up with a bicycle symbol of the appropriate color, at the few intersections near businesses located on the river side of the trail. My son Colin and I stopped at a red signal and Sue slowed up next to us. All of a sudden this guy yells and blows by us on the right, just inches from Sue’s wheel.
   Get this – he grumbles at us, “You should just roll through the red lights.” - WHAT? Well, those of you who know her will note how Sue can (putting it as nicely as possible) get emotional in moments like this, and she gave him a loud reminder of what he should have done. Needless to say, we were then greeted with the friendly “Welcome to NYC” hand salute in return, and yes, it included a digit-al representation of his I.Q.
  In Sue’s defense when handling this situation - and I can’t quite remember what was said, but it wasn’t offensive or unreasonable, considering his incredibly inane comment – she was already a bit on edge, after nearly being taken out twice in Central Park. The first instance was a small group of tourists riding against the flow of traffic, despite the numerous signs reminding them to go counterclockwise around the park, and then panicking by fanning out in multiple directions, instead of staying closely together when approaching us. The second incident involved a woman slowing suddenly and doing a 90° turn right in front of Sue, which caused her to lock up and slide on her tires a few feet.

Alright, enough preaching!

   Yes, FREE BIKES! My brother-in-law Jay passed a bunch of trash in front of a house in his neighborhood, and circled back when he thought he spied a bike in the pile. It turned out to be an early Kestrel bike, pretty much complete, and not in too poor condition. He thought it should be worth further examination, so he loaded the bike into in his vehicle to take back to the house.
   Kestrel pioneered the manufacture of carbon fiber frames, including the first made completely of the material in 1986 - this 200sc model was a 1989-90 product. The curvy flowing junction of the main tubes, made possible by the monocoque structure, was a distinguishing feature of Kestrel frames. All necessary parts were on this bike, including a classic Shimano 600 component group and nearly new set of excellent Mavic Ksyrium wheels. The bike seemed to just really need a good cleaning, probably some new cables and a bit of lube/tuning.
   Well almost. The righthand brake/shift lever wasn’t operating correctly, so teaming with Jay, who has more of a knack for tinkering with the clockwork-like mechanism stuff than I do, we were able to get it functioning properly. I was unable to take any pictures of the operation because it was all spring-loaded and our hands were always in the way holding it together while something was being assembled and tightened, but the blow-apart drawing of the component below gives an idea of the complicated job we faced (without the "special tools").


   Although he swapped wheels, wanting to replace the inferior Alex set on his Cannondale bike with the excellent Mavic counterpart, Jay did his best to dress up his "new" ride. He bought a nice Jagwire brake and derailleur cable/housing set and some green (I don’t know why) accents in bar tape and a bottle cage. He also purchased a pair of flat platforms that clip into his Shimano SPD pedals, so that a switch between riding in cleated shoes or sneakers is possible. 


   I had met a new friend through my listing the Bianchi bicycle, and we began exchanging stories about our collections, while I provided a bit more of the technical information and some advice on components he might use in a few build projects he was looking to finish off. Aaron admitted to having far more stuff around his house than he was going to have time or funds to complete. He was amazingly generous when he expressed a need to clear some things out and offered a 2008 Cervélo Soloist Team bicycle frameset to thank me for the services I had provided, no matter how minor I thought they were!
   I expressed how much I enjoy sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm for the hobby and that his gesture wasn’t necessary, but he is a wonderful person, and he made the trip out from the West Philadelphia area to visit, with the frame in hand. I gave him a tour around my shop and showed off some of my collection, and I was very happy to see that he shared my passion and was very patient listening to me, which I’m sure can get overwhelming sometimes!


   The frame is in very good shape and has a fantastic airfoil shape with a super-narrow profile for excellent aerodynamics. I plan to build this bike mostly as it was set up originally, with a few improvements here and there, such as a better wheelset – maybe carbon rims? Hmmmm…





Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Tour Talk

   After finishing up so many projects in the shop recently, I’m taking a bit of a break before getting back into the Pinarello Treviso work. I will be attempting to fill some of the pitting on the frame with Bondo before I take it over to my airbrush artist friend to start the painting process. The folks at VeloCals had been on summer vacation for a few weeks, but now that they are back in business, I plan to order the vintage Pinarello decals soon.

   In the meantime I wanted to talk a bit about the pro racing scene, now that the Tour de France has concluded. Not that anybody really wants to watch a race to see who finishes in second, but the last few days were intriguing as the final two podium spots were hotly contested. French fans were going crazy with the prospect that not one, but two of their countrymen could finish on the podium!
   It’s hard to believe that the last Frenchmen to win the Tour was Bernard Hinault in 1985, but Richard Virenque’s 1997 second place to Jan Ulrich was the most recent occasion that one of their countrymen  had even finished in the top three in Paris! Jean-Christophe Péraud, the amazing 37-year-old whose pro career began just five years ago, and young Thibaut Pinot held off the challenge of Alejandro Valverde, who trailed them by only fifteen seconds going into the final time trial.
   Valverde, the Spanish national champion in the time trial, had a decent shot at overtaking them, but his form appeared to be fading in the last couple of mountain stages. His Movistar team was one of the strongest squads in this year’s race, and set up their captain for success, but he had little left to challenge in what may have been his best chance at a top three Tour finish, particularly when such strong favorites as Chris Froome and Alberto Contador had crashed out.

   There was some discussion about the possible final results had the two big guns been there for the full three weeks, but Vincenzo Nibali (pictured above winning Stage Two) looked incredibly strong. He won four stages in total, including the amazing “Roubaix Stage”, when he took a big chunk of time out of the favorites. His team was constantly in control at the front during the Tour, and I don’t think he showed any weakness. I doubt anyone was going to come back to overtake the Italian champion – Complimenti!
   Valverde (photo right) pushed aside the harsh criticism of his failures at the Tour de France by winning the San Sebastian Classic on Saturday. It is hard to hold top form for a whole season, but the Spaniard has tried his best, claiming his tenth win this year, taking the top point spot in the World Tour. Valverde has often been the victim of his own reputation when attempting to get into a winning break, with rivals refusing to work, knowing that he will just beat them to the line with superior finishing speed. With a few miles left in San Sebastian, Valverde jumped clear, leaving his four breakaway companions behind to fight out the final placings.
   I was thinking of the frustration Peter Sagan must have felt stuck in the same situation so many times at the Tour. The Slovak star, who claimed the green points jersey for the third straight year, incredibly finished top five in each of the first SEVEN stages of this year’s race without winning any. He was constantly the marked man, and many times at the line, it was a case of Sagan missing just that little extra finishing kick because he had been the one chasing down moves.
   When watching races, my wife offers up these phrases that she has heard me say many times: 1) You have to accept the chance that you might lose in order to take that big shot at winning, and 2) even if your rivals know you are the strongest, you have to let your them know that you aren't going to do all the work. Sagan has to be willing to sit back occasionally and say, "If you don't help, you aren't going to win either.” It seemed he did just that during Stage 11, when the Cannondale star powered away from the peloton on a descent with a handful of breakaway mates in tow.
   In the closing miles to the finish line, Frenchmen Tony Gallopin got a small gap, and the race was pretty much over, particularly because Michal Kwiatkowski was one of the remaining riders in this group. The talented Polish rider had previously taken advantage of Sagan’s willingness to drive the break during this year’s Strade Bianchi and jumped clear late to win the race. When Kwiatkowski took up the familiar position behind Sagan, waiting for him to chase down Gallopin, a frustrated Sagan seemed to say to himself, “I remember this, and it's not going to happen again," and completely backed off. Indeed he didn't win, but neither did Kwiatkowski!
   Sagan has always been the main man at Cannondale, and it will be interesting to see, with his apparent move to the Tinkoff-Saxo team next season, if the talented rider will have better chances to win with some talented teammates to back him up. With some options in their squad to lead the attack, it may be harder for teams to simply focus on Sagan as a threat.