So, this Sunday we decided to have brunch up at the Presido Social Club. I reviewed this joint previously here. Awesome atmosphere, very comfortable, great with kids, and a nice example of a tasteful renovation of an older structure. Anyway, since wifebot(tm)s sister was coming and we have a 4 seater MINI, I offered to ride. I’d get a short zip up the grade and over the bridge under my belt, and it would solve the seating issue. I hadn’t ridden in about 12 days, nursing a strained wrist, but it seemed the time to give up the rest and get on it. It was about 75 degrees when I left, and it jumped to the high 80s while I was out. Gorgeous day.

Side note: here’s a shot of the Jolly Roger I have on each bike, for science.

Side Note: note the wisced ’3′ on my stem. I’m superficial.

Side note: and I finally laid down a Team Lope Tyre Clubbe vinyl on Rogue, my Cinelli road bike build. Smaller than usual, but not a lot of room on this frame.

So I got out there and rode through MV, Sausalito and up Alexander to the bridge. This was my usual return commute when I lived in SF and worked in MV, so I’m not reallu used to it in the day time, fighting tourists and swerving cars and rental bikes and sun. On the other hand, no wind, and I’m accustomed to it blowing like stink getting up the hill and over the bridge in the evenings. Anyway, the ride was great, my wirst didn’t hurt too badly, so it was nice to get some riding in. You’re off the bike for more than a few days and you feel like everything falls to pieces. This photo was at the entrance to the Presidio Social Club, near the Lombard gate. Getting there was interesting due to all the construction from the Doyle Drive demolition.

Unfortunately, having scorchers then rain then scorchers then rain is tough on allergy sufferers. The trees get tricked and re-flower so pollen levels are at an all time high. I looked like I was a Less Than Zero extra by the time I sat down. My eyes were on fire and I had the hay fevers and so on. But the food was good and being with my family was better. Ate light. Just heading down the hill again, right?

Well, here’s what happened: the pedestrian and bike traffic is pooled onto the bay side of the Golden Gate Bridge while they do ‘construction’ in quotes, because there was nothing happening on the weekend of course and I saw no dangerous sections of that side in all my drives into the city at this point. I think they just close it off for months at a time and sort out the repair schedule as they need to later. It really pisses me off. Combining riders and pedestrians on the same side is a recipe for disaster, and I’ve commented on this several times here on Team Lope. It’s terrible. The tourist traffic is immense, no one looks where they’re going, the pedestrians stagger or JUMP out into the bike side the bikes get all tangled up with the tourist rentals and such, and then frustrated roadies plow through them all. It’s a bad scene, and very stressful. On the way over, I saw several near-misses, thanks to a girl scout march. Those girls were NOT being managed by the troop leaders, and were out of control.

So, on the way back, more of the same, and despite going slow and calling out and trying to safely and politely navigate through the throng of people who were paying NO attention, I still collected a girl scout. She tangled in my bars like ole Lance, though I was only going about 5mph and I didn’t fall over. The girl scattered and then the troop master or ward started screaming at me. I pointed out that if I was crossing the bridge in these conditions I’d be holding my daughter’s hand if she was out of control, as they were, and that SHE was responsible for keeping those girls in line. I said this very politely as she ranted about ‘us cyclists’. Keep in mind I was being very careful and calling out, while riders in front of and behind me were less patient. I made sure the girl was OK, and she was. She was totally backed up and quiet too, because she knew what she did: she was jumping out and tagging the opposing handrail like a game. Anyway, I was so fired with adrenaline and aggravated at those irresponsible women that I had to burn it off. Not engaging in a confrontation is like swallowing a grenade. So, I got off the bridge and decided to climb the Marin Headlands, and so I did.

That cleansed my palate! I haven’t ridden up that stretch since they repaved it and added a roundabout for all the tourist cars, and it was a nice refresher. Got to the top, took a few pics, descended the other side, felt that cool ocean breeze. Really great! Because of my wirst, my braking was weak so I locked up the back wheel a few times ont he descent avoiding braking cars, but overall, no issues. And MAN, is that tunnel back to the bridge exhilarating or what? I didn’t time it this time but I was ahead of the cars, it’s one way/staggered, and it’s a mild descent so it’s SO FAST. Love it.

Back home through the tourist madness of Sasaulito, up to the deck where the whole fam was hiding out from the heat, a beer and a baby in my lap. Great way to end my impromptu climbing ride!

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Jon Howell is one of those folks I ‘met’ through a social netoworking site (not fecesbook) through shared interests of technology, illustration and bikes. He is preparing to do Aids Lifecycle this summer, and in the process, decided to get his rear in gear by becoming a Training Ride Leader.

Now, I’ve hosted a ton of rides over the years, and I’ve hosted them fast, slow and in between. But what struck me, reading his ride journals, is that a TRL has a unique challenge: they have to account for the fast AND the slow in the same ride. It’s part of what I love about ALC: riders of all skill levels and experience find their way down to LA. So, in a recent post about being sweep on one of these rides, he pointed out a frustrating setback: he spent all this energy and motivation to build up his endurance and expectations for faster, longer rides… and now, as TRL, has to find a a way to UNWIND that potential energy, because he’s waiting for much slower riders to catch up.

It’s an intriguing detail but one that I think offers him good practice for ALC as a whole: while on a symbolic level the mix of fast and slow riders is a good thing, in literal application, I think coming to the ride trained and ready to blast off like a rocket, but still being able to cool your jets as it were, is a very sound thing. Because we saw many riders on ALC 9 that bombed at every opportunity, creating pacelines, riding two deep, breaking traffic laws, all much like they would on a fast group ride competing for time. And those riders put other, inexperienced, overwhelmed riders at risk. That pissed me off. Now, B and I rode ALC on fixed gears, so you’d think we would be in the slow camp but in actuality, we were among the faster riders on any given day. However, we didn’t NEED to be, and we frequently slowed for traffic conditions, to talk and support other riders, and to experience the event more fully. It’s not a race.

So, I think Jon inadvertently learned something critical to more fully realizing the experience of ALC: take it at different paces, have confidence in your endurance, and enjoy it moment by moment. Because for every awesome cluster of roadside supporters waving flags and bells and throwing cookies at you, there’s 20 miles of overcooked Salinas heatwave highway. If you treat that ride like a time trial, you not only ruin it for others, but you suck the joy out of it for yourself.

Good on Jon for being a TRL and for doing ALC!

You can read more here:
http://jonathan-howell.tumblr.com/post/ … /ride-3-18

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just because i currently ride and love a sweet cinelli x MASH bolt f/f doesn’t meant that i love leader bikes any less. and THIS fork is one of the reasons why. black on black on black, aero, and fly. minimal rake makes this bad boy twitchy as fuck. i’m in love.

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hal is apparently a NYC staple. born and raised new yorker, been riding the city his whole life, and a bike mechanic at bicycle habitat for 33 years (no, i didn’t make that up for brand-awareness’ sake). HERE he goes around rating people’s lock jobs and when at one point he locks up his own bike, he gives some tips on mods that he’s done and locking techniques that he uses.

as a recent victim of bike theft, i found this really informative. don’t get me wrong, i knew 90% of these things, but there’s one thing in particular he does that’s not only a "why didn’t i think of that" moment, but also would have kept my bike from being pinched a couple weeks back. basically he does the same lock-the-wheel-through-the-rear-triangle move that i use religiously, but he does it such that one of the seat stays is also enclosed in the lock. DUH. like i said, why didn’t i think of that. as we know, if you don’t do that, a criminal can cut through your back wheel and take your sweet-ass murdered-out leader.

as i said, he does a lot of the things we all know – locking down the seat, cabling the front wheel to the u-lock, using security skewers (one of which is especially cool – a pentagram key rather than a hex key) – but he has another little trick in there that i fucking LOVE. he’s epoxied a ball bearing into the hex nut that holds his headset compression bolt in. now i have no idea how he gets it out when he needs to fix his stem or do headset maintenance, but i LOVE that it’s an extra deterrent. when you rock a $200 cockpit, it makes a TON of sense.

please enjoy, it’s actually a very entertaining watch.

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this weekend, i was bound for a wedding on the north coast, and because of some tight timing with friday night plans, i was forced to leave my favorite bike at the office over the weekend. this is something i’ve done a zillion times — often for one night, but sometimes for the weekend, and once for nearly 6 days. our building’s garage is "secure," and i always lock up appropriately, in such a manner that the only way to steal my bike is to either break the lock (unlikely), or to cut THROUGH the back wheel with a grinding disc.

well, cutting through the back wheel with a grinding disc seems to work cause i’m down one ULTRA sick murdered-out leader build. it was my favorite bike that i’ve ever owned, and it was the fixed-gear that i rode from san francisco to los angeles on the AIDS/lifeCycle in 2009.

i took a quick trip through the garage to check on my beloved sled this morning and that moment when i saw it gone was a strange one. my first thought was, "wait, did i take it home?" i knew better, but because of my locking method and because the building’s garage is "secure," theft didn’t pop up as my first option. but when i saw the lock still there, with my helmet still attached, and my "spokeCard" hell’s angels support stickers on the ground, i knew what was up and my heart sank.

you know it’s not "if," it’s merely "when," but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.

i’ve got SFPD on the way over to take a report and then i can submit a claim to my renter’s insurance, and hopefully to the lock company.

on the upside, i have enough stuff around to build up another bike in the meantime, and when any insurance settlements come through, i can replace it even better than before!!!

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(this is not my screengrab, it’s just a sample.)

THIS is really cool to me. a cycling buddy hipped me to it and since it’s a free app and a free sign up, i figured i’d give it a shot. you download the app to your phone (all three major dataphones are supported), sign up, enable your GPS, and click the "start ride" button. from there, the satellites take over and track your speed and elevation on your ride. pretty simple stuff, but very cool that you can do it from your back pocket, in the background.

i tested it on my ride home from work yesterday and i took "the long way" to give it a minute to have potential failFactor. my route is roundabout and out of the way, but i like it because there’s lots of traffic and excitement and i don’t have to climb any part of nob hill or russian hill. as you can see, it’s about 4 miles and the elevation is minimal, but it’s interesting to be able to track it from a satellite. i’ve always been interested in this tech, and it exceeds my expectations thus far. it gives me a map, ride statistics including elapsed time vs ride time (start to stop vs wheels rolling), average speed, top speed, elevation, and it uploads it all to my online account.

one thing that’s very cool is that you can specify all your sleds and note which you rode on which ride. this allows you to keep better track of how you’re doing, based on the bike you’re on. i VERY much dig this, but i have to weigh all my bikes because it doesn’t allow you to make a new one without knowing it’s weight. i’m very much looking forward to getting this information up there.

the one thing that i don’t really care one way or the other about is that it ranks you against other strava users. i’m not a really competitive dude, so i really don’t pay much attention to that, but i’d be lying if i didn’t admit that i’m pretty proud of the fact that i’m firmly in the top 10 SF strava users who can blast the 3rd-8th street sprint on howard in under 3 minutes, and i’m only 30s behind the leader.

there are far more functions available, especially when you get on the paid account, versus the free account that i’m on. you can add info such as cadence and heart rate from other monitors, and there’s some way to tie it in to a garmin as well, but i haven’t looked much at it.

as a varied-discipline cyclist, i really like this. it takes no effort and no extra bullshit loaded onto my bike. it’s just my phone, i already have it on me. i do like when i have my cyclometer mounted, but to be honest, i do that so rarely that this is a great backup option.

huge fan so far.
look into it.

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There are 3 things awesome in this pic. Can you find them? Try now!

…

Wait, sorry, edit: 33 things.

http://shipwreckd.tumblr.com/post/529506724

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I like Leaders, but I generally don’t like contrast forks. Except for this one. Something really works for me, every time I see this certain ride of a certain someone who rides with a certain crew.

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when i built up my leader, one thing i’d learned from several years of fixed riding and well over a decade of BMX riding is, don’t skimp on your chain. very, very, VERY few things suck as much as breaking a chain. on a BMX bike, it’s incredibly painful. on a track bike, it could be deadly. so i went as beefy as i could, using the SPANK TWEET TWEET HALFLINK CHAIN. i’d previously used the SHADOW CONSPIRACY INTERLOCK CHAIN, which was kickass, but the spank boasted the same specs (most importantly, an impressive 2860 pulling pound tolerance), at a lower price point.

i’ve now ridden this chain for about a year and a half, and well over 3000 miles (in fact, probably closer to 4000), including my ride from SF > LA. we’re talking about little noodley commutes and we’re talking about crushing centuries. whatever i threw at this chain, it could handle. it’s beefy as fuck, weighs a ton, and i’ve always felt that it’s completely worth it.

so today on my way home from work, i was slowing down on approach to a light when i felt a little "POP!" come from my drivetrain. given that after that, i felt a little click on every second crank rotation, i just figured i busted a chainwheel tooth. but upon inspection, i discovered that i’d broken a chain link. the only reason the chain didn’t fall off completely is because i didn’t break both sides of it, i only broke one. so the chain was still held together by the other side, allowing me to finish my commute. get a regular chain to do that.

big, big, BIG props to the spank tweet tweet. it’s a fucking BEAST of a product. in addition to lasting for nearly 4000 miles of hardcore city and long-distance fixed drivetrain punishment, it held through one final hellacious whip skid … AFTER it broke. that’s BALLER.

thanks, spank! i’ll be back!

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i snapped up two sets of the sweet CINELLI x MASH TOPOGRAPHY VOLEE TAPE last week — one in black for the leader and one in white for my currently-underway road bike build, and today i wrapped the bars on the leader. as you can see, they were chipped up from a couple of spills…

i was looking very forward to this "project." even though wrapping bars is an arduous and tricky process, i’ve been riding bare bars for a while now and i really wanted some cushion. this tape is volee and as such has great grip and padding, even without gellys underneath.

after the fact however, i’m a little disappointed…

here’s why. i very much liked the look of my bike with bare bars and a bandanna over the head badge. it was much more simple and it was super gangsta and it was kind of unique. people recognized it a lot, in fact. and i know that there’s nothing more shallow than making a significant upgrade and detesting how it makes your ride look, because that’s form over function — a concept which has no place in real life. but i’d be lying if i didn’t admit that’s what i’m feeling right now. i took the bandanna off because with the tape’s all-over topography print, there was a lot of texture going on up there and it was getting really pattern-y.

i dunno, i’m sure that riding on the tape will make me settle with it more, but from a strictly aesthetic standpoint, on THIS particular bike, it’s a fail.

one thing i do love, as you can see in the following closeup, is that the finishing tape they supply has both the cinelli and MASH logos on it, and i dig that…

and they actually supplied more of this tape than you need. so what i MAY do, in the future, is just get some plain black volee tape and use this finishing tape on it.

i have zero worries about how the white version of the tape will look on the road bike i’m building because that bike isn’t holding to a monochromatic scheme. but here, where i’m trying to keep it murdered-out, i’m bummed.

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