Mon, 20 Nov 2006
I crashed. I keep listening to In the drugs by Low. Yea Vicodin.
posted at: 20:18 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
Sun, 29 Oct 2006
12th Annual Halloween Alleycat
posted at: 10:23 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
Thu, 10 Aug 2006
Was called Coney Island or Bust. It was amazing. What you might notice is that I'm not listed in the top 15. Well, that's to be expected. It was my first and I had no idea what I was up against. In the end, I finished somewhere reasonable (like the top 20 maybe) and left with some pulled calf muscles and brusies from crashing into a fence coming off the Manhattan Bridge. Since I'm new at this, I'll try and explain what a new york alleycat is like. It's fucking insane. Everyone has to run to their bikes from the start point, jump on and just go. As fast as they can. There were four check points. If a rider finished and didn't make the checkpoints, they were disqualified. Most of the checkpoints were in manhattan, which made the ride extra crazy because the sprint had to go through busy city streets, including Times Square. That's pretty much all I can say. Most people finished the 18 mile course in about an hour, which means their avarage speed was 18 miles an hour. pretty good for fixed gears and two wheels.posted at: 02:22 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 18 Jul 2006
One last update because I forgot to mention it before. I didn't pay attention at first until I saw two guys feeling each other's legs and commenting on how smooth they were at the prospect park race. I know that swimmers shave their legs to lessen the surface tension of water but c'mon, surface tension of air is dramatically lower than that of water. Then I found the answers I was looking for. I must say there were some good looking guys and gals out there tonight. I probably looked pretty silly at the finish line with no shirt and excessive body hair. I guess I'm not up on the tradition.posted at: 02:22 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
My First Prospect Park Summer Slam Race
posted at: 01:33 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 22 May 2006
2006 Montauk Century on a Fixed Gear
"How do you go down hills? How do you stop?"
"No helmet? Leave the century NOW!" (yes, I forgot my helmet and didn't realize until I was at the start line. This is bad, I know and I felt terrible but couldn't quit without starting. I did not leave the ride at this random man's request)
Getting passed by a man on a Bianchi track bike. "A kindred sprit." Apply Doppler effect.
Passing an older man on a custom fixed gear. "It only takes one!"
Standing in the beer line after finishing, over heard. "...and then there's the guys on the single speeds. Woah, can you imagine? No gears! And I even saw some of these guys wearing pants! Now that's style and substance."
The ride ended with a few miles of...hills! Fuck. Strangely enough they broke up the monatony of the final stretch and gave me a chance to pedal at different speeds. I ended up passing many people up the hills and had to go full speed down to conserve energy. It worked very well. At the end of the hills I nearly pulled my right calf and slowed down. The final 200 feet had a ridiculous amount of headwind. It was like someone was sadisticly saving the worst for last. I got over that, pulled into the finish line and realized I pulled my left hamstrain. After some stretching, eating and beer drinking everything got better. This morning I felt fine considering. The NYC Bikes City Fixed is an aluminum frame with a carbon fibre track fork. The wheels are deep-v 700s and the handle bars are also aluminum but slightly angled up for more comfortable distance riding and easy pothole skipping. The gear ratio is 46x16. And if you are still reading this far because you are waiting for an explaination of what makes riding a fixed gear 100 miles so "crazy" here it is. A fixed gear is a variation on the classic track bicycle. The only components on the drive train are a single chain ring on the front and back and a thicker than normal chain. The back ring is reverse threaded and stuck in place with a lockring. This means the bike cannot coast. Riding 100 miles means pedaling 100 miles. Classic track bikes are almost always steel, have a wheel base so narrow the back tire is only milimeters away from the seatpost and there are no break mounts, therefore the only way to stop is to apply back pressure on the chain. The handle bars are extremely steep. My bike has none of these characteristics. Wider wheel base, a front break, an optional rear break mount and less steep handlebars.
posted at: 12:55 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 08 May 2006
Is a totally awesome event, though not as much of a party as Critical Mass. I did the 42 miles on the fixed gear and got away with only a small pulled muscle. The highlights were riding on the BQE through Red Hook and over the Verrazano bridge into Staten Island. FDR on the upper east side was fun too. I met the two guys who run Old Skool Track, a web site dedicated to the people with steel track frames and no front breaks. They were very nice to me despite my decidedly non-old skool alumimum/carbon frame, front break and deep-v rims. Next stop, illegal underground races through the city!posted at: 12:15 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 22 Feb 2006
I have been riding a fixed gear bicycle for transportation around Brooklyn and Manhattan since the summer of 2005. I have a front break but I was constantly in awe of the people I saw riding over the bridge on a full-fledged track bike: thick chain, track hub, lockring and that's it. Then there was the first time I saw someone do a skip stop coming down the steep part of the Williamsburg bridge detour. Shit was amazing! I asked him how he does it and he was nice enough to show me. That was two weeks ago and last night, I finally did it. It was an amazing feeling. I felt like I had more control over the bike. A feeling of weightlessness came over me when I picked up speed after the stop. Sheldon Brown describes it in words better than I can.posted at: 16:26 | path: /cycling | permanent link to this entry
