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Comments - A Ukrainian in Iowa

June 04, 2010

Thanks for noticing Memorial Day, kind of puts our other troubles; like which saddle to choose or struggling with pesky cleats in perspective. Keep up the great work!
- FC, Okinawa, Japan

June 03, 2010

I too am a fan of Samuel Abt from the old days when the only cycling news that was freshly recent about the TdF could be found in the NYTimes--sometimes with pictures! It was a reminder of how unpopular cycling was with the American "main stream" in those days. Now you can get a 30 second clip on the CNN sportscast, but only for the Grand Tours, with a scrolling news bar blip on the bottom of the screen. Unless, of course, its about LA, in which case, the story runs again and again in the main newscast. [On a side note, LA is blindly revered by ALL of the non-cycling masses, and justly so for his work with LIVESTRONG! Hope all goes well after the current doping investigations. Just think of all those broken hearts if it doesn't....] [On another side note, how the hell did I end up talking about LA here?!] By the way, I think it's way cool that Samuel Abt posted his comment below! Editors of The NYTimes be damned! Samuel, let's hear from you now and then!
- Joseph, Seoul

June 02, 2010

My wife and I met Sam Abt at the Tour in 1999. It was in the rider staging area before a stage start. I recognized him straight away. He was surprised that someone from the states knew who he was. I was more struck my his presence than that of Armstrong's who I had just met a few minutes before. I told Mr. Abt that I had read all of his cycling books, and an occasional NYT cycling article when I could find one. He had the right muse to fully express the nuances of the sport. I think that he genuinely appreciated my praise of his work. But alas, even back in '99 he was quite disillusioned with the sport. Sorry to say the drugs have killed it.
- Sisyphus, Amherst

June 02, 2010

Motor doping isn't really science-fiction. At least the motor does exist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE
- Alain, Montréal

June 02, 2010

I don't get many things in life. Amongst them is: Why on earth are there so many saddles??? Super hard, flat, and a not too wide nose solves 99% of all saddle problems if you put some time in the seat. If not, NO saddle will help you. Secondly, how on earth can our erstwhile CC-blogger-extraordinaire do any work or cycling. I'm amazed. It takes me an hour to read every article, including all the fantastic links. It must take days to scour the earth for all the related material required to write one article. Many so-called journalists could learn a thing or two, especially regarding the staunchly opinionated crack-me-up-opinions that are laid out like sizzling fat on an Arizona drive way.
- Andrea Martori, Tifosiana a Terra Mater

June 01, 2010

Украинец в Айове? Пиздец.
- куп, БХ

June 01, 2010

Agreed! The Look grip cleats are a pain. I bought three sets of the original to hold me for awhile.
- Richard, Scottsdale, AZ

June 01, 2010

Juliet is terrible, hate to be rude. I have written many letters to the NYT regarding her errors in reporting. The times does better reporting on cycling through their Style section (covering the hipsters) than the sports section. If the article is not about Lance, it tends to be off. Last year she incorrectly stated how Andy H. won the Gavia stage in the Giro. She has been factually wrong on Levi, LeTour, the Giro..... I can live with the uninspired writing but it is upsetting when she gets facts wrong that you could fact check by walking into any quality bike shop full of bike geeks. The Times never corrects the errors or responds to my letters. We need more Michael Barry writing.
- Fausto, New Jersey

June 01, 2010

Thanks for all your work Samuel!
- bill, dublin, ca

June 01, 2010

Your post is confusing about the Keo Grip Cleats. If you don't like them use the old bi-material cleats and even use cleat covers. Riders should always start with traditional shaped saddles (arione, concor, flight), then, only then, if they don't work move to some goofy saddle (teknoglical, gel flow, blah, blah, blah). Too many people jump right to the goofy ones and it doesn't fix anything.
- Dwight, Minneapolis

June 01, 2010

A friend of mine sent me your article praising Samuel Abt’s work and asking what has become of him. I can answer that, being Samuel Abt. Thanks so much for your kind words. In short, I am retired at home just outside Paris on a terrific French pension (fully earned with contributions over 35 years as an editor) and spend my time like any other retiree: I read a lot --- Cormac McCarthy’s border trilogy, Gordon Wood’s studies of the American Revolution, schlock novelists like Dennis Lehane --- occasionally wander the streets in my bathrobe and watch television. Lately I was watching the Giro d’Italia and writing about it too, on The New York Times Web site, but the Global Edition. (I’m somewhat banned, for bad behavior, from the NYT U.S. Edition.) While I write occasional pieces about bicycle racing, I no longer go to races, being too weary to work 12-hour days and then schlep a suitcase up four flights of stairs to a grimy hotel room after missing dinner. It’s called growing old. It’s also called growing disillusioned. Too much doping, too many suspicions, far too much ugliness like the Landis-LeMond confrontation a few years back. Now I let the riders go their way and I go mine. I still think it’s a gorgeous sport, though. (I don’t think, as you said, that I transcended the NYT, just tried to match what I considered its ideal work. At the end, my editors and I disagreed on what that ideal was.)
- Samuel Abt, Puteaux, France

June 01, 2010

The Tour is corporate, slick, controlled and predictable. The Giro is wild, ragged, majestic and passionate. The Tour is studio trickery. The Giro is a 30-minute live version of Cowgirl in the Sand.
- Grandpa Neil, Big Sur, CA

June 01, 2010

Sad to hear about the SLR, but Selle Italia has an innate knack for biting the hand that feeds them... Look at the death of the original Flite for instance. The redesigned version is a far-cry from the original and sits completely different. I loved the original and despise the 'new' one. I've happily moved to Prologo now. Innovation for innovation's sake is a dumb and dangerous road to go down...
- Jonny, Ptown

June 01, 2010

I also hate that cleat. No teflon insert where it contacts the pedal...it creaks and squeaks like no other.
- Phil, Walnut Creek

June 01, 2010

I too miss Sam Abt--his books are all we have left at this point. As for Starchyk, he was over here last fall to compete in the Univest Grand Prix--apparently his team has some connections with John Eustace. I guess the experience enticed him to return for more? And speaking of pedals? Any recommendations? Switched from Look to the "new" Shimano's years ago and never quite fell in love. Suggestions would be welcome.
- Pavé, Pennsylvania

June 01, 2010

Sab Abt retired after the 2006 Tour.
- David Brower, Alamo CA

June 01, 2010

I like the Look cleat. I have no problem getting into or out of the pedals. I like not slipping on my garage floor when filling tires with air or even unclipping at lights. Doing a splitsy due to cleats giving way is something I won't miss. They also last longer.
- Jack, NYC

June 01, 2010

@ Your hate for keo grips, you should look around for the keo bi-material cleats. They have a teflon piece where they clip in which smooths entry/exit as well as removing the infamous squeek. Most importantly however, they're sans rubber grip.
- Joshua, Sunnyvale

June 01, 2010

I'd have to disagree about Juliet Macur. In my book, she's one of the best journalists covering cycling at the moment. She seems to have good sources and a knack for getting them to talk. As far back as 2006, she broke the Andreu story and she's been ahead of the game on the Landis story.
- Dick O'Brien, Dublin

June 01, 2010

I hate that cleat too
- Dan, Kansas

June 01, 2010

About 2 years ago Sam Apt announced he was retiring. He still does occasional articles for the NYT and its sister paper the IHT.
- Gino, Ponte a Ema

June 01, 2010

Cripes, my post is rife with typos. When will CC add an (timed) edit option to the comments? Hopefully sooner than later ;-)
- Matthew, BC

June 01, 2010

Count me among the TdF to Giro converts. I'm embarrassed to say that I was seduced for too long by the Grande Spectacle that is the TdF. But in the last three weeks the screens have been lifted from my eyes: never again will I feel the same about Le Tour, which is stayed, over-controlled, over-calculated and (IMHO) lacks PASSION (dare I say, even lacks panache) by comparison. // WTF, Selle? Less is more, people. I'm talking about fewer features and fewer options. I'm on the 135 gram SLF. It's on every one of my bikes exclusively. Sounds like I'm going to have to hoard half a dozen more ASAP. // I have the same problem with Juliet Macur that I have with all of my non-cycling family and friends: suffering is the door to understanding the sport. If one hasn't on a bike, then one haven't passed through to a certain level of insight in to the professional cyclist.
- Matthew, on a SLR hunt