WHAT'S NEW
Coffee Is For Closers
- Welcome to June 27. It's end of the month; end of the quarter; and, for some companies, end of the fiscal year. Can you feel the desperation? Thankfully, we don't feel it here. That is, we didn't until a supplier of ours inadvertently CC'd me on this email. The names are blurred to protect the innocent, etc --
That tape is so cheap it makes you want to do what?
- Rabobank's Laurens Ten Dam wasn't just King of the Mountains at the 2011 Tour de Suisse. He role-played as full-on mountain man, as in Ozarks or Appalachia. One word for him: Hirsute.
- The best thing written lately about the violent mania of training for bike races was (as perhaps should be expected) not written about bikes at all. Never has cycling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu seemed so close. It's a short story called "Letter From Cambridge" by J.D. Daniels, and it's in the Fall 2010 Paris Review (#194). Unfortunately you can't find the story on the web anywhere. You need to buy the issue. At $12, your entertainment ROI will be substantial.
If you require further evidence of the similarity between the confrontation inherent to bike racing and that within martial arts, look no farther than the purported current fascination of the ex-PRO who, arguably, is America's all-time most underappreciated bike racer. It's Chann McRae. Apparently his nickname was "Moonwalker" back in his Mapei days, but more importantly he top-10'd both the World Championship Road Race and the Tour of Lombardy more than once. He was ferocious on a bike, and now in his post-riding life he's apparently equally mad for MMA training. Tapout!
- Late June is when the season of oppression begins here. A wet blanket of summertime heat weighs inescapably. Pedaling from a stoplight qualifies as an interval. Hill repeats are unthinkable. Training wanes, and it rekindles the love of sightseeing by bike. Perhaps these would be more dashing via Instagram or Hipstamatic, but it's too damn hot to work that hard. Some photos from my inaugural attentive ride of 2011 --
July 26, 2011
What is that tool bag under the saddle?
- John, Phoenix
July 18, 2011
...yeah, i want to hear your spin on tour coverage. I need a good laugh.
- Eric, Hell, I mean Dallas
July 14, 2011
Time for an updated blog please ... perhaps there is something going on in the cycling world these days worth writing about ...
- Jeff, Off the back
July 06, 2011
Bobke crazy.
- Steve, Madison
June 30, 2011
You gotta let me know how Calvin's is. I'd come all the way to Little Rock to give it a go, then get out for some big miles the next day to burn it off.
- Zach T., Chicago
June 30, 2011
what kind of camera are you using? just curious
- Andy, Minneapolis
June 28, 2011
like those MCM and contemporary buildings
- Eric, Chester Springs
June 28, 2011
I read the previous post about the rings and found it funny a bike shop doesnt have tons of odd parts to make things work, specifically the front der. issue. Then I see you are running Di2. Would be interesting to see if other cable operated front der. would work better or is it an issue across the board. Part of what I miss about wrenching, frankenbikes.....
- Hung Low, Philly
June 27, 2011
Damnit! When can I buy your bike? Or do I have refriend that long-lost relation in Dresden? Seriously.
- Sean, Carslbad
June 27, 2011
Oh come on: everything's available on the internet, somewhere. Even the Paris Review. Here, have a PDF version: http://www.mediafire.com/?t7z1db6nph8kf4t
- snootydude, Paris, Review
June 27, 2011
The E. Fay Jones inspired house is awesome.
- Grant, Toronto
June 27, 2011
Thanks for reminding me I need to take a camera on my next tour around the rock.
- Brian, Little Rock
June 27, 2011
What did you butcher that crank with?
- CT, dirty south
June 27, 2011
So does the Di2 front der do a better job of coping with those OSymmetric chain rings?
- c, mpls
June 27, 2011
can i buy your bike when your done with it ?
- marc, Quebec
June 27, 2011
I like the subtle Canyon references...when do you start selling them?
- Rich, Mill Valley, CA
June 27, 2011
Cool
- EF, home
