Great weather tonight greeted the group, great weather that is if you like 90 degrees in the shade [there is no shade] with 90 percentile humidity. This is what summer is about and if you keep your wits about you and stay hydrated, don’t go ballistic up every hill and stay out of tar traps it can be a lot of fun. For the twenty or so riders tonight it was a chance to lose some water weight and scour some unneeded rubber off their tires. We are seeing a record number of creaky bikes lately. High temps and high moisture levels form a barrier between bearing surfaces and dissimilar metals that lubricates the metal so that it “gives” forming a squeak or creak. Typically disassembly of the offending area [typically the BB or headset] and cleaning and lubing with waterproof grease cures it. Until then it is not life threatening…… until your riding partners beat you senseless for not maintaining your bike.
I am in the middle of the book ROADIE. It is a great read and is almost like looking in the mirror. I strongly recommend it. Painfully honest, funny and totally accurate it would be a great book to explain to non-riders why we ride.
Deb and I just returned from the Raleigh America Dealer Show in Cle Elum in Washington State. The beautiful Suncadia http://www.suncadiaresort.com/ resort hosted the show. In addition to first rate accommodations and food out of this world we got to ride our choice of hundreds of bikes both road and mountain. We also met with the big wigs of the oldest bike company on earth [123 years old] some highlights: Again the Di2 Dura Ace bikes were a hit. Expensive but totally cool, if you ever get the chance………Raleigh has a Single Speed, Cr-Mo BELT DRIVE 29r that got a lot of play, neat to beat and ultra quiet for those clandestine trail rides through the camp. Shimano was there with the NEW XTR 10 speed setup. Very pretty and very customizable. The new Dura Ace Carbon pedal was there, just when you thought it could not get lighter! They had a slew of internally geared urban and utility bikes which are not glamorous but very high tech and very efficient. I see one in my future.
We had dinner with the head of Raleigh who jetted in from England. Great guy who is enthusiastic out the new Pro Team they are building with hopefully a TdF bid in the next few years. All in all a great time and a great learning experience. Check out the pictures on Flikr http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/ and the DB Freestyle Team Riders, who are totally nuts by the way. Enjoy the heat as we go again next week. SO2
I am in the middle of the book ROADIE. It is a great read and is almost like looking in the mirror. I strongly recommend it. Painfully honest, funny and totally accurate it would be a great book to explain to non-riders why we ride.
Deb and I just returned from the Raleigh America Dealer Show in Cle Elum in Washington State. The beautiful Suncadia http://www.suncadiaresort.com/ resort hosted the show. In addition to first rate accommodations and food out of this world we got to ride our choice of hundreds of bikes both road and mountain. We also met with the big wigs of the oldest bike company on earth [123 years old] some highlights: Again the Di2 Dura Ace bikes were a hit. Expensive but totally cool, if you ever get the chance………Raleigh has a Single Speed, Cr-Mo BELT DRIVE 29r that got a lot of play, neat to beat and ultra quiet for those clandestine trail rides through the camp. Shimano was there with the NEW XTR 10 speed setup. Very pretty and very customizable. The new Dura Ace Carbon pedal was there, just when you thought it could not get lighter! They had a slew of internally geared urban and utility bikes which are not glamorous but very high tech and very efficient. I see one in my future.
We had dinner with the head of Raleigh who jetted in from England. Great guy who is enthusiastic out the new Pro Team they are building with hopefully a TdF bid in the next few years. All in all a great time and a great learning experience. Check out the pictures on Flikr http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/ and the DB Freestyle Team Riders, who are totally nuts by the way. Enjoy the heat as we go again next week. SO2
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