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Cyclelicious 2.0

Cyclelicious, by far one of the best cycling blogs out there now has a new look!

The site now runs on Wordpress, the same software which powers Velobration.  Head on over and take  a look!

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Mardi Gras 200k Ride Report

On Saturday Feb 13 I rode my first brevet!

I woke up at 3:30am. I could tell it was not a work day, because even with minimal sleep, I shot right out of bed.  I loaded up my bike in the back of Karen’s (my wife) Geo Metro and headed to Louisiana.  The brevet was set to start at 6:30, and I timed it to arrive at about 6.  I got there just on time and was actually the first to arrive.  I got my gear on and rode around a bit to warm up.  About 10 minutes later Roger from north Georgia showed up.  This guy has been riding a brevet per weekend for a long time now.  Shortly after Pat (the rba), Dennis, Steve, and Roger showed up and we were soon off.

The temp was in the low-mid 30’s most of the morning but I managed to stay very comfortable with the exception of my toes.  I had hoped that a combination of shoes with little ventilation and wool socks would keep my toes toasty, but this wasn’t the case.  It would be several hours before I could feel them again.  The ride was pretty easy even until the half-way point.  I was happy to be keeping up with the group on my longest ride yet.  We stopped at a po-boy shop in Folsom, LA for lunch.  Much to my delight they had a veggie po-boy which was really good.  Along with everyone else, I saved the second half of my sandwich for a stop about 30 miles from there.

The we started out on the second half and I was still feeling fine.  I was eating a gu pack every now and again as well as eating a couple FRS energy chews at controls.  In the city of Bush, about half-way between the start and mid-point (this was a there-and-back brevet btw) we stopped again to eat.  I ate the other half of my sandwich and also enjoyed a regular coke.  This was a welcomed treat after all the Powerade I had been drinking.  I was feeling a bit sluggish by this point and my quads were burning just a bit on climbs.  Maybe 20 or so minutes after leaving Bush I felt a lot better… until the pain started.  Apparently a large sandwich and coke was a bad idea as I developed a cramp in my side which didn’t go away for well over an hour.  There was nothing I could do about it, so I just did my best to ignore it.  It finally faded not long before the end of the trip, teaching me a lesson about how not to eat on a brevet.

At some point early in the ride, Roger decided he wanted to ride at a faster pace and was not to be seen again until he passed us on his way back to the finish.  I think he finished somewhere around the 10 hour mark.  The rest of us rode as a group and finished at 6:35PM for a total time of 12:05.  I felt surprisingly good afterwards considering this was a good 40 miles longer than my previous longest ride.

I had a great time and can’t wait for next month’s 300k.  I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked!

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Rohloff AG Speedhub production

Rohloff hubs,  expensive… yes.  Sexy… most definitely.  Will I ever own one?  Probably not.  Either way, this video details the production process of these internally geared hubs.  The craftsmanship that goes into these is amazing.

Rohloff AG – Speedhub production.

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Miyata 615 on Flickr

I saw this beautiful Miyata 615 on Bikehugger this morning and just had to repost it here.  It’s setup somewhat similar to my Voyageur, but much much nicer.  Great work on this!

Miyata 615 on Flickr

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Movie Monday – 2009 Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes

I’ve got randonneuring on the brain right now, so here’s a gorgeous video of a brevet through the alps.

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Did you take a grey bike?

Did you take Mike’s bike?  If so he has a message for you.  (nsfw language).

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NADA Bike

The NADA Bike project is aimed at getting more people on bikes and less in cars.  How do they plan to do this? By offering simple, bare fixed/single gear frames for a very reasonable cost.

$100 + $49 shipping gets you a frame which you can build any way you like.  If you already have a collection of spare parts, this can transform them into a complete bike on the cheap.  With such a low cost for the frame, you could still end up with an inexpensive fixie even with new parts.

I’d be curious to hear about how the frame works out for those who have built them up already.

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Build an adjustable bike ramp

I love Instructables.  It seems that site has plans to build nearly anything, including tons of bike related projects.

This one is an adjustable bike ramp for those times when you just have to take your ride off some sweet jumps.  While the instructions claim it is for a kid,  there’s nothing stopping the kid-at-heart from catching air with this as well.

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Getting back into training

The past few weeks have been busy. Between work, school, and other distractions it has been hard to get in saddle time. I ended up missing the brevet I was supposed to ride in January. I wish I had a good reason, but I just overslept. Oops.

There is another 2 weeks from now. With not being able to ride much I was worried about doing this. I’m certain I can complete 200k, but I also want to turn in a decent time.

Yesterday I finally got in a good long ride and my fitness has not declined much if any. I’m very happy about that. I’m also trying to get a little more structure in both my riding and other aspects of fitness, namely my diet. I’m now keeping a log of all my rides as well as anything I eat. I really need to drop those last 10 lbs that seem to want to stay on me.

As hard as it can be at times, I’m learning I really need to make riding a priority, it seems to help me manage everything else.

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Movie Monday: Cyclocross Compilation

In many parts (not here unfortunately) Cyclocross or CX is in full swing.  Check out this amazing footage, be warned though, it may make you want to leave the office and get your road bike in some mud!