Slaying The Badger- Book review

Slaying The Badger:

A Must Read For Cyclists Looking for Inspiration

Bernard Hinault, also known as the badger, tearing down the competition. Cycling Art Blog

The year was 1986. As I was taking my first steps, Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault were crossing the finish line of the Champs Elysees, cementing the first Tour De France win for the young Lemond and retiring the older Hinault, a five time Tour De France winner. What went down at this tour was epic. This was a tour full of mountain attacks and solo breakaways that have been unmatched since in the professional cycling scene. It was the last time that a tour would claim to have  a true leader, one that couldn't be challenged and one that would never lose, unless it was on his own terms. Thus Slaying The Badger is a window into 1986 and the stories of each of these two men leading up to that fateful 1986 tour. 

So, the first question my readers might have is, why do I care? I mean, I was barely born when this happened so how is this relevant to me? It's simple. Growing up, society treated the 80's like they never happened. No textbooks contained any historical events nor did the media and entertainment industry make any cultural references about that time. I guess my parent's generation were past their formative years when this decade came along, disregarding it as having been too recent to consider it history. It wasn't until later in life, and with the globalization of the internet, that I independently researched a lot of what went down during the decade that my parents rarely if ever talked to me about. I'm glad I have been able to add to my cultural knowledge of this time period when I was introduced to the world. 

Another reason why it matters to me is because I now own at least two bicycles that are as old as I am, and I ride them hard. Before being slammed by headwind on the way back, I rode my custom made 1986 Woodrup averaging 19mph for the first fifteen or so miles of my ride. So not only did the 80's do something right by bringing me into the world, the bikes made during this time are very fast, even by today's standards. 

So let's talk about the book, shall we? The book introduces both characters in their modern day setting, Hinault on his farm in Brittany, Lemond in his spacious house in Minnesota.While the author describes Hinault in a pastural setting, his home at the end of a seemingly endless and unpaved driveway, reminiscent of the way homes are in my native Puerto Rico, Lemond's home is slightly less modest, with an elaborate garden in the front entrance and a seemingly larger house than Hinault's. Why these details matter is a mystery to me, but it does give insight to the type of personalities each cyclist has.

Bernard Hinault, if I could pick only two words to describe him after reading this book, they would be "The Boss". Everyone knew better than to cross Bernard Hinault, if anyone dared cross him they would feel the wrath of his beating, whether on the bike or even physically. During the 1984 Paris-Niece race, Bernard  got off his bike and dispersed a crowd of about 25 labor union workers protesting in the middle of the road, scattering them off with his fists. Although he suffered a broken rib from that incident, it just shows you how boss Bernard Hinault was. His physical feats and ability to withstand pain are even more astounding. Just like Gino Bartali before him, he endured a freak snow storm in the 1980 Liege-Bastogne-Leige, winning over the rest of the field by over ten minutes, suffering permanent frostbite at the ends of the finger tips. Bernard Hinault cranked a huge gear, a common practice of a lot of the greats from that era. This may be the reason why he was constantly getting knee injuries during his time as a professional cyclist. Even with that setback, he won many races were he wasn't at his best due to knee injury, a broken nose, or even falling of a precipice. Bernard Hinault, in short, was hardcore. He inspired a fear and a respect in the peloton that has yet to be matched by any modern day cyclist. His competitors even had posters of him in  their rooms, that's how much he was revered. Even with that level of admiration, Bernard Hinault knew his limits. He was never a braggart about his victories, and was very selective about what he set out to win and what he would allow other team members to win. As a team leader, sometimes he would play domestique to allow his teammates to win stage victories or even one day races. He was a leader that knew how to lead.

Greg Lemond, was cool. I'm not going to go into any depth describing Lemond's greatness, that's what the rest of the book is for, so definitely pick up a copy and read it. Maybe that's being biased, but that's also why you're reading this review from my blog. Greg Lemond was a very gifted cyclist. He could drop his teammates almost at will, choosing on many occasions not to do the same to Hinault as a show of respect. In contrast to Hinault's self confidence and self reliance, Greg Lemond appears insecure and at times even paranoid in his account of what happened at the 1986 Tour, claiming everything from foul play to keeping his bicycle in his room over fear of sabotage. His insecurities showed even further years afterword in his criticism of Lance Armstrong, although as we later find out, Lemond was right about Armstrong not racing clean. The way Lemond went about this, though, undermined his own achievements and left a very negative first impression about him in my mind. As an athlete Lemond had the goods and delivered them, every time. And he is the only American that won the Tour De France fair and square, and reading this account there was no way I think he could have cheated.

This book also brings to light other great cyclists of the mid eighties that I knew nothing about, such as Laurent Fignon, Urs Zimmerman, Lucho Herrera, Andy Hampsten, and Sean Kelly just to name a few. I didn't even know Colombians reigned supreme on the mountain stages before the 90's came along and they became outperformed by others doping their way up the mountain passes. Reading this book, I spent hours of additional research on each of the riders and details of that era that the book described. 

Slaying The Badger is a good read, and I recommend any cycling fan to pick it up and read it. It's better than It's Not About The Bike, because it's actually non-fiction and gives the reader something to really cheer about. This has been my ten cents about this autobiography. Stay tuned for more book reviews from a Bicycle's Point of View.

When Bad Things Happen...

Looking at the glass half full, sometimes bad things happen.

Today I went out for a long, well deserved bike ride. It was a beautiful day to take the Guerciotti out for a spin, one of the bikes that I own with a collector's value of about $1,200. The bike frame is bonded aluminum tubing with glue that is screwed into the lugs, and it's really a reliable bike, despite the reputation for failure these frames have. I had a great ride, and felt fast despite not having a bicycle computer to tell me my average speed. 

I have a trunk mounted bike rack that I use to carry around my bikes. I could never justify the expense of owning a roof rack that would be worth about 20% of what my car is worth (for the record, I don't drive a fancy car, just fancy bikes). After my ride I loaded up my bike on my bike rack and took the scenic route home, which goes through a residental area with multiple speed bumps. These speed bumps are not marked and are difficult to see sometimes. I approached a speed bump at around 25 miles an hour an hit it on full force, the non-existent shocks on my car being no help whatsoever. The bike rack snapped off the car and flew in mid air with the bike attached to it.  I stopped in the middle of the road to pick it up, and noticed that the bicycle was fine except for the rear wheel, which was really wobbly  and out of true and dish. I will probably have to take it to the shop to get it rebuilt, since I am the one who rebuilt it originally and it was only a passable job.

This is not the first time that the Guerciotti takes a beating under my ownership. A few months ago, I backed into a Porto-potty with my bike on the end of my bike rack. Besides the stem shifting to the side there was no damage to the bike then either. Thankfully I have been able to not have any frame/component damage on these two occasions, though I am starting to rethink my logic about putting my bike on my car rack rather than just riding it on the street.

The city is repaving a lot of the local roads in my area that are notorious for their potholes and cracks. I have been taking my Guerciotti in the car to White Rock Lake trail to avoid having to ride through these roads, and possibly messing up my bike. I think from now on I still stick mostly to riding around my neighborhood route. 

Sometimes bad things happen, but sometimes its necessary to imagine how much worse a situation could have been.  My bike could have been totaled, instead of only a $50 charge at the bike shop to rebuild the wheel. I thought about how it had been the first time in a while since I got to fit in a long bike ride in my schedule, and how much better I felt after my ride. I also thought about all of the cool bikes that have landed in my lap recently, and how the Guerciotti came to being mine for $160 bucks. I can take my time putting the money aside to fix the wheel, and ride some of my other bikes in the meantime. Not all is lost, and there is no need to be a nihilist about it.  Once I get over my initial freaked out stage, I'm ready to look at things from a glass half full.

My Guerciotti is a lovely bike, but in the end it's just a thing. Things are replaceable, but people, time and experiences are not. I'm still simmering over the fact that its going to cost me at least $50 bucks to fix the wheel, because it feels like $50 with interest with the budget I am now facing these days. But it is what it is, as they say here in Dallas. Like I said before, no need to gloom and doom over it.

Overall, today's circumstances are what they are. Tomorrow lies the opportunity to get up, clean up the mess, and right the wrongs of yesterday. Without trying to get all philosophical about it, sometimes bad things happen: our bikes fall off our cars, we gain weight, we get tired. But as long as we are alive and kicking we can always fight back.  

Speaking of Alive and Kicking, enjoy this cool 80's song that always makes me feel better when I'm having a bad day.

"Here's what Americans get about Cycling, and why it's not a problem"

Here's what Americans get (or are starting to get) about cycling: In Response

to a recent article by Business Insider Australia

Recently an article has been circulating around the web so much it has finally gotten my attention. Business Insider Australia wrote an article about what Americans don't get about cycling,  somehow attesting that they have a clue as to why Americans bicycle even though they are based in Australia, clear on the opposite side of the world. Although the article brings up some good points, such as the need to broaden infrastructure in an intelligent way for cyclists in the U.S, the article has to tread on some cultural differences people living in the U.S might have with the rest of the world, portraying those differences in a negative light. This article is in response to some of those negative suggestions.

First off, here in the U.S people ride their bicycle for exercise. Even if on a commute, the commute serves as exercise during the time it takes to get from one destination to another. That is not a negative thing such as the article is suggesting. The truth of the matter is that more and more Americans are recognizing the importance of exercising and taking care of their health, in light of increasing health costs and health problems. In addition, the U.S is the fattest country in the world. So any effort by people living here to take care of their health is valued and should not be criticized by outside sources. In short, compared to the rest of the world "We're fat, we know it, and we are trying to do something about it. Don't criticize."

To suggest that cycling should be just another form of "fast pedestrianism" as  the article suggests is borderline offensive. The pedestrian on wheels, or "chic cyclist" concept doesn't appeal and won't sell to most people living in the U.S. People in the U.S will not ride a bicycle just to go faster than "walking" speed. To an average American, that is what buses, trains, and taxis are for. When a person here rides a bike, it's because they have to go fast without using a car and they have to arrive on time. Americans usually work forty hour a week jobs where they get only two weeks paid vacation a year, unlike most Europeans who work thirty hour or less a week jobs with a two month paid vacation. 

I will from time to time take a jab at the spandex crowd for looking like complete tools even when they are hauling their kid trailers on the backs of their bikes. There is a time and place for everything, and that includes spandex. I will admit however, that spandex and Lycra are not bad ideas when commuters have to cover long distances. For cycling to be a viable option or commuting in the U.S, sometimes one must cover many miles on a bicycle. For instance, has anyone personally tried to ride more than thirty miles without spandex on? At the end of the day, chaffing and hemorrhoid inflammation are simply something most people do not want to come home with. I'm sure Copenhagenize would argue that if we all rode dutch-style, cushy padded seat bicycles we would not have this problem. The point here is, that in the U.S people will ride what they want to, whether it's a road bike, cruiser, mountain bike, etc.  And most people who commute are not riding to your neighborhood corner store, because that corner store simply does not exist in most towns across the U.S. Most people are physically too far removed from their jobs and destinations for a Dutch-style or "townie" bike to be useful or applicable. Road bikes and the gear that comes with them seem a better alternative for commuting around U.S streets. Sometimes looking like a tool can actually be comfortable, and make sitting down later much easier. (I will admit, however, I usually wear T-shirts or sweaters over jerseys when I ride, even though I still wear the spandex shorts, TMI?).

Another attack this article made was on having too much of an emphasis on hygiene and therefore implying that businesses need to offer showers for employees to use if they are cycling. The fact is that a lot of companies are already offering locker rooms with showers for their employees. It is not an uncommon business practice to do so. Americans on average do not supplement their showers for the heavy perfumes and layers of clothing that a lot of Europeans use. There are no water shortages that would justify most people living in the U.S not to shower at least once a day.  It is perceived as unhygienic to go for more than a couple of days without showering, and believe me, others will take notice when someone does. There is nothing wrong with holding ourselves to high standards of hygiene as long as we have the means to do so.   This does not mean that cycling requires special accommodations at every job, just the jobs that require suits and ties in air conditioned buildings.

To whoever in Business Insider of Australia that wrote this article, if you want to talk about what Americans do and don't get about cycling, you have to understand the American psyche. Americans want to be rewarded for their efforts, whether it's to improve their image, save money, feel better, get stronger. You cannot entertain to win over an American audience to cycling by saying that cycling is just "transport". You have to understand the audience you are are talking to.  People in the U.S love to identify themselves by their status or their individual personalities. For a long time the automobile has been used as the tool to self promote in the U.S. One cannot expect this to all the sudden change just because a person is on a bicycle. Although I don't necessarily agree with the "look at me!" attitudes most Americans display as a result of this, that's the situation and that's what we have to deal with.

In the end, it's not about what Americans don't get about cycling, it's what a lot of people don't get about Americans. Americans ride their bicycles because they want to look good, lose weight, get healthy, save money on gas, and be uniquely "American" whilst they are doing it. They are not ashamed of the reasons, however shallow they might appear to everyone else. Now, Americans need a lot of advice on how to organize successful road bike races, instead of the criteriums which are so prevalent here. Americans still need a lot of dieting advice, so please give it tactfully, knowing most Americans already know they are fat. These are matters we usually turn to outside sources to give us their opinion on, so please, indulge us in your expertise.

Getting Young People into Cycling

An article dedicated to the up and coming youth

interested in cycling

Wow. I guess I'm showing my age here just by writing that headline. I am still young and I feel even younger at heart. Marriage, parental duties and adult responsibilities have not changed this fact. The truth is, from youth I have always enjoyed being an active person. In my personal case it goes as far as to be a necessity for me to remain active, even though my life circumstances are no longer what they were when I was a teenager or in  my early 20's. I enjoy the company of like minded people who are either young or young at heart, and who don't use their age to excuse themselves for not living an active lifestyle. In my part of the world, I happen to notice that even though I'm in my late twenties, I'm still among the youngest people riding bikes that I know of. I have always wondered why there isn't a whole lot of enthusiasm among younger kids to get into cycling. I know in other places there are more young people who ride their bicycles, but as a whole I can't think of anywhere where there is a youth movement to ride. 

I suppose the answer to that question is the same to why I didn't get into cycling at a younger age. When I was younger, I was more interested in ball sports where groups of people would participate. I lived in a small city where the community recreation center was within reasonable walking distance from my house. It featured a basketball court, where I would spend most of my days after school and sometimes on the weekends. Ball sports like basketball and soccer where a cheaper alternative for recreation and there was no safety issues or equipment to worry about. The problem was when there was no one to play with. 

Most young people, around their late teens and early twenties, stop being active due to the fact that their friends marry off or get busy with their careers or studies. Most young people do not believe in individual sports, because many of them develop a strong feeling to be accepted among their peers, and fear doing anything that their friends are not doing that would isolate them from the group.When these young people turn into young adults, they carry that yearning of acceptance with them.

During my adolescence, I was more active than the majority of my peers and therefore looked for individual sports, such as skateboarding or cycling, when I was not playing a group sport. I was a die hard soccer fan until about 18 years old, then the people I played with no longer showed up for the games. It was around this time when I joined a gym and found a workout partner in a 35 year old Haitian body builder named Jean-Baptiste. As a way to get a double workout on some days, I would ride my bike from my house to the gym where I exercised at. It wasn't long before I made another friend, also in his mid thirties, who would invite me to go riding with him on the bike trails. In his native South Africa, Carl had been an amateur racer and had participated in some of the major races held over there. In his living room sat a Cervelo time trial bike in a shipping box that had yet to be assembled. I had never seen a bicycle like this, since my exposure to cycling until that point was through cheap mountain bikes. Nevertheless, Carl would invite me on rides where he would sometimes ride laps around me on his Trek hybrid. Looking back I now understand how Carl must have felt, not having anyone to ride fast with or that understood what cycling was about. Even still, Carl would invite me just about every week to ride, and I always looked forward to our next ride. From then onward a seed was planted, and I began to think about cycling as a form of exercise and an actual pursuit rather than something I just did growing up as a kid down my neighborhood block or on a mountain bike trail. It would be another five years before I would buy my first road bike, and then my real introduction to cycling would begin.

Out of all the sports I have participated in when I was younger, cycling continues to be the funnest and most effective form of exercise until this day. Soccer players retire at a very early age, most of them by the age of 25. Professional cyclists can sometimes ride into their late 30's, and there are even guys like Jans Voigt who are in their 40's and still cycling. The endurance muscle develops at a later age for cyclists and cyclists tend to peek later than other types of athletes when it comes to their performance. Since cycling is not an impact sport, riders can last longer on the bike than they would playing soccer, football, or any other type of impact sport.

Compared to our European and other international counterparts, young people here in the States get a late introduction to the sport of cycling. If that weren't the case, there would be more American champions to boast about. According to Bikes Belong, a non-profit organization, 67% of cycling's growth in popularity has occurred among males ages 25-64. However, 27% of American youth ages 5-17 ride a bike, that's over one in four young people. Promising statistics, but the problem is that there is no data for young adults ages 18-25. That's the age when as mentioned before, most young people stop being active as a result of having to rediscover their identity within society.

How do you market to this group? By understanding their needs. Cheaper bikes are something this age category are already familiar with. Craigslist has played a vital role in getting many college aged kids on decent, used bicycles at a price they can afford. Having unsanctioned events where there are no licenses or fees involved is another way to peek the interest of this group. No charity rides, no critical mass rides, just fun races and events where young people can compete but are not tied to a charity or a cause. Most young people this age do not have strong opinions about things, and generally stray away from taking sides on any issue. Along with the already required driver's ed, young people should also have the option of taking a vehicular cycling class, and the program should be offered along with driver's ed. Education at this level is probably the most important step. We need to teach young people that riding a bicycle is allowed on the roads, and that they have every right to be there as someone driving a car without having to fear for their safety. Lastly, it needs to be the cool thing to do. Athletes such as Lebron James and Kevin Durant have been open about using cycling as a means of cross training for their basketball games. I give Lebron major props for riding his bike to a lot of his home games.

Who is currently looking out for the 18-25 year olds and influencing their choice to ride a bike? Enter the hipster trend. Riding for fashion, rather than for sport, recreation or transportation. Most young people around this age group do not identify with the fashion trends and attitudes that are promoted by the hipster, yet many of them see no other group taking a lead for their interests. A few years from now many will associate cycling with an ironic looking character mounted on a fixed gear bicycle. And that's sad really, because cycling is about as normal an activity as it gets, that  is for normal people and not for a confused, spoiled, misguided and elitist fringe of society that cannot speak for youth in general.

When I was growing up I used to get together with friends to go play basketball and soccer games. It would be really cool to see kids and young adults getting together for bike rides. That's something I have not had the opportunity to see happen in my area. I cringe thinking about going to one of the local group rides that are offered near my area. I either have to ride at a 20mph pace or I'm stuck in a group of old frumpy people on hybrids. I'm yearning for the cycling scene to change. Please, if you are a young person reading this and think cycling might be the thing for you, don't hesitate to try it out and get your friends involved to.

Vintage bikes: Still Relevant?

Can Vintage Bikes Compete in Today's Peloton?

Yes, they can. They can also be easy to find and can cost1% of the actual cost of one of today's high performance professional bikes. 

How is that even possible? One of today's bikes being as fast as one from about 25 or more years ago? At first glance, it seems like an ambitious, even foolhardy statement to make. But I have the facts to back it up. Being a bike nerd, I have developed an attraction, to the point of infatuation, for all things vintage when it comes to bikes. I have collected novels with accounts from the Golden era of cycling when riders rode on Reynolds 531 steel, used down tube shifters, and used over the brake hood cable routing. Bicycles that were anything over 14 speeds seemed like a myth, or an unnecessary amount of gears.  And I can tell the races back then were just as fast as the races are now.

Let's compare, for example, the average speed of the peloton from the 1982 Tour De France and from 2012. The 1982 Tour was only 11 kilometers longer than the 2012 tour. The average speed for the peloton in 1982 was 38.05kph, or 23.64 miles an hour. In 2012, the average speed was 39.9kph, or 24.79 miles an hour. That is about one mile an hour faster than in 1982. The difference? Smoother roads, electronic shifting, built in wattage and cadence meters, indexed shifting, carbon fiber and lots and lots more money being poured into the sport than in 1982. The modern race bike is around 15 pounds, six pounds lighter than the bicycles back then. The benefit of all of this, again to emphasize is one mile an hour.

One mile an hour. If I don't eat before I ride I will sometimes go one mile an hour faster than with a sandwich in my stomach. One mile an hour on one's average speed is a big deal when building up the speed necessary to compete professionally, but it certainly ceases to be impressive in a lapse of thirty years. One would assume that with all of today's technology that it could be faster than this. But it isn't, and let me tell you why. 

What are now vintage bicycles were and are great machines, works of art in their craftsmanship and attention to detail. By the 80's, the racing bike had been perfected in every way shape and form for the purpose that it served, to go fast and be reliable. They not only were fast and reliable but looked great doing so. So what happened? What had to change?

Absolutely nothing. The saying goes if it's not broken don't fix it. Bikes from back then should have been left untouched for at least another 30 years. In hindsight, to gain one mile an hour difference, there simply was no point. The Tour De France is not the only race where this applies. Since 1986, no one has been able to break the speed record set for the race across America, or RAAM. This record was set using 1980's technology and still stands until this day.

In 1982 the tour was won by Bernard Hinault. known as Le Blaireu (the badger) for his aggressive nature and the way he took charge of the peloton during races. He was a true leader, a man's man. The guy never backed down from a fight, and he wasn't the kind of guy you would want to mess with. Fast forward to 2012. Bradley Wiggins wins the tour. So what, big deal. Not to be disrespectful, but Wiggins does and will never hold the air of authority over the peloton that Bernard Hinault once did. Next year someone else will take the yellow jersey, or if no one else is ambitious enough then Wiggins might have it again. In all honesty, Wiggins fails to impress me beyond those ginormous mutton chops he possesses.  Slaying The Badger, the current book I'm on, gives insight into the kind of rider Hinault was. I recommend anyone looking for cycling inspiration to read it too.

For those of you who are considering getting into the local bike racing scene on a vintage bike, it can be done. There is no reason why it would be impossible. I want to read of stories in the future of guys wailing at criteriums on their friction shifter equipped Peugeots and then saying "booyah!" to the competition. I recently discovered that I don't like going slow if I don't have to. Whether my bike is vintage or modern, I tend to ride faster than most people that I know. I have to stop looking at that as a negative and see what I can do with it. It's one thing to be faster than my family and friends but I know I'm still far from being able to win a race. But looking at these numbers from 1982 I at least know that its possible, and that gives me hope and makes me want to start training harder to ride faster. 

I hope that if you are like me and own a vintage bike you too will start mashing the pedals harder on your next ride. As long as the bike is mechanically sound, enter it in a race and let me know how it goes. Knowing that there are competitive retro-grouches out there lets me know I'm not alone in this. Keep training hard, riding harder, keep the rubber side down and the cycling cap on with the brim tilted upwards. Stay tuned for more insightful articles from my blog, and subscribe if you haven't already.

Riding For the Long Haul: Addressing Pains and Aches on the Bike

Answering why your fingers may be getting numb while on your bike, among

other concerns.

When I started riding, I experienced pains in my knees and fingers which I thought were the result of not wearing gloves and being out of shape. Through my now six years of regular riding experience I have discovered how to ride pain free, without even requiring the use of gloves on while on my bike. Gloves should not be a substitute for dampening road vibrations and saving your hands from Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. They should only be used as a safety item for if a rider should fall and have to catch himself on the asphalt. The following are some adjustments you can make to your bike that will allow you to ride for the long haul, that is, for many more years without having to give up early due to unnecessary injury.

Why your fingers get numb:

First let's answer this by saying that it isn't due to not wearing gloves. That has been a successful marketing scheme that the bike industry has used to sell more over priced cut off gloves. What the bike shops don't tell you is that today's bicycles are more stiffer than they have ever been, with almost all bikes made of oversized tubing and straight blade forks, with the forks twice as thick as what they were twenty or more years ago. The result?  A far more jarring ride. 

For example, there is a big difference in the ride quality of my steel Woodrup and my aluminum Raleigh. The country roads that make up my ride route have many potholes, dips and cracks as well as areas where there are loose gravel. While steel bikes like my Woodrup absorb all these road imperfections, with the fork blades visibly bouncing as I ride over road obstacles, my Raleigh has no give whatsoever. The front fork, although chromoly and with a small amount of rake, does little to improve the ride quality of the bike. The result is that, unless I use gloves to ride my newer Raleigh bicycle, I'm in for some wrist pain after my ride. The same can be applied to most modern bicycles now made, regardless of the materials used. So, before going out to buy some new gloves, it might be the bike itself causing the trouble. Since gloves are less expensive than a new bike, buying gloves might be the more sensible alternative than getting a new (or used) steel bicycle. Just remember to invest in the long run, a good bike will last longer than the many sets of gloves a rider can and will go through.

Check the handlebar position. Believe it or not, adjusting the handlebars by tilting them even a few milometers up or down can have a drastic effect on your ride. For a few years I played with the tilt of the handlebars on my Raleigh, until now I am comfortable enough with my hand positioning that I sometimes forgo using my gloves. Adjusting hand position, such as gripping the ends of the drops on the handlebars, also goes a long way to easing any hand related pain one might incur.

Why your knees are hurting:

The commonly accepted myth is that the frame size of the bike is off by a few centimeters. People sell bicycles that fit them because they were "a little too big, or a little too small" for them at the time. While it's true that having a extra long top tube may cause the rider to overstretch trying to reach the handlebars, the truth is that the same principle does not apply to seat tube length.  So that we are clear, the seat tube is the tube on the frame that the seat post slides into. The seat post height is the critical factor that will determine the fit of the bicycle. Many knee injures on a bike are the result of a poor seat post height.

Here's a rule of thumb that I use when fitting a bike to my personal dimensions. I must have at least 4 inches of the seat post exposed from the seat tube in order to have a comfortable ride.  At around 4 inches the seat post starts to absorb road vibrations, any less and you will be feeling the full effect of the road surface on your posterior. If I can't at least have 4 inches of seat post then the frame is too big for me. However, the opposite is true if I expose so much of the seat post that I pass the seat post height limit that is usually marked near the bottom of the post. Too much exposure of the seat post will put too much load and stress on the post and on the frame joint, causing seat post or frame failure in the long run.

Given these rules of thumb, I can ride between a 54cm and a 56 to 57cm frame. Measured with a ruler, I ride frames that are both 21.5 and 23.25 inches tall. A more compact frame such as a 54cm gives me climbing advantages that a larger frame might not. However, a 56 or 57cm frame allows me to maintain my top speed more efficiently and have a more aerodynamic position on my bike due to the also slightly longer top tube.

When adjusting the seat post height, make sure that there is a slight bend on the knee with the pedal turned  down  and parallel to the floor. Make sure you can achieve this with the foot resting on the pedal, parallel to the ground and not tilted up or down. There should not be too much bend on the knee nor should the knee lock with the leg being all the way straight. A slight bend is a slight bend, enough to engage the leg muscles and to only use the knee as a pivoting point when pedaling. 

I am also a spokesman for cycling shoes. Purists might say that these shoes did not come around until the mid 1980's, and that the benefits associated with them are placebo like. But let me assure you, cycling shoes make a big difference in your ride, and can even contribute to saving your knees. That is because they serve the important function of preserving the natural arch of the foot. I rode without cycling shoes regularly for several months last year. Upon visiting a chiropractor I discovered that I had become flat footed. The arch in my foot had completely collapsed as a result of putting pressure on the wrong part of my foot. I started using cycling shoes again, along with an orthopedic soles in my regular shoes. The back pains that I was having have seemed to have now subsided. I now only ride platform pedals when using my mountain bike. They are no longer an option I consider when going long distances, or going fast.

Why your back aches:

Another reason people give up cycling is because their back starts hurting. They might already have had back injuries, and cycling might be aggravating that problem for them. There are a few bicycle adjustments that can be made to avoid having any back associated pains when riding a bike.

Lower back pain on the bike comes from having too long a top tube on the frame to where the rider is having to overstretch to reach the handlebars. It can also come from having a poor saddle positioning where the saddle might be tilted inward or outward, instead of being a flat surface for the rear end to rest on. The saddle should only be moved forward and backward, never tilted up or down. There are saddle designs, like ones made by Vetta or Selle San Marco Concor, where the end of the saddle will have a small lip that flips upward, intending to catch the rider's rear end and keep it there. These kind of designs call for tilting the saddle slightly. Most newer saddles are no longer designed this way.

Upper back and neck pains are associated with stem length and handlebar width. Most people who started riding with a new road bike are conditioned to having a  sloping top tube, a riser threadless stem, and at least 42cm wide handlebars. Going to a traditional diamond framed bicycle with a flat top tube, quill stem and 40cm handlebars might make things uncomfortable at first. A quill stem forces the rider to find their comfort zone much faster than a riser them. That is because there are only mere centimeters that can be pulled out of the head tube before the height limit is reached. Quill stems force a rider to adopt a racing position much quicker because the rider has to reach below the top tube to grab the drops of the handlebars. This stretches the back in a way that might seem unnatural at first. The discomfort usually goes away in a few months. If it doesn't, then maybe it's time to look at some other causes, such as the width of the handlebars.

Why are handlebars wider nowadays? Because  we are bigger than our parents were in their prime, and our parents who are still riding have become old and fat. Wider handlebars allow the rider to breathe better, but also affect aerodynamics and top speed. The key to choosing handlebars for a road bike is not choosing the widest ones first. Choose the handlebar that will allow you to breathe efficiently while still allowing you to adopt a racier position.

Here's my rule of thumb on handlebar width. I choose the handlebars according to my tuxedo size. My chest size for a dress suit is between 40 and 42 inches. 44 inch suits will start to feel baggy on me. The same goes with handlebars. You can get the "sport" fit at 40cm, the "relaxed" fit at 42cm, or the old man "frumpy" fit at 44cm. Keep in mind, at 44cm speed gets taken out of the equation, as average speed can actually go down by a couple of miles an hour.

For some older riders or riders getting into cycling with previous injuries, these adjustments might not be enough. Some might have to buy special stem adapters to achieve a more upright riding position. Eventually, this leads to the stereotype where all recumbent riders are old guys with white beards. But road biking isn't for everyone, and some people no matter how hard they try just can't get a road bike to work for them. That's fine, that is why there are different bikes for different people.

These are some tips that may save your knees and and your wrists and may keep you from quitting the sport early. I have talked to a few people who now no longer ride because they kept injuring themselves out of a lack of  bicycle fitting knowledge until the damage was irreparable. Cycling has become so popular now that most people know about fitting themselves on a bike or know of someone who can fit them on one. I hope these tips have been helpful. Stay safe, stay fast, and keep subscribing to more informative posts from a Bicycle's Point of View.

Nairo Quintana Wins Pais Vasco

Columbia back on the rise, Nairo Quintana "Spanks" the competition

for the win

Courtesy of Cycling News

The Tour of the Basque Country (Pais Vasco) is a six stage bicycle race held in the Basque Province of northern Spain. This race is over 50 years old and has cemented itself as an important Spring classic and as training for the grand tours of the summer (Giro Di Italia, Tour De France, Vuelta A Espana).  For the first time in 20 years, a Colombian rider has grabbed hold of a major victory and has set the tempo for other Colombian riders to follow.

Some readers might think this is just another sport article about bicycle racing, a topic which has worn thin to many people due to the corrupt actions of some of the athletes in the sport. And while it is an article about bicycle racing, let us not generalize this cyclist's great achievement with the regrettable actions others may have taken in the past. This guy deserves full credit for his hard work, including the training before the race that put him in peak form and in prime position to win Pais Vasco.

Nairo Quintana is no stranger to success in this sport either. The diminutive, five foot seven inch Colombian with strong, indigenous features won the Vuelta a Murcia last year, a race only consisting of two stages but nonetheless one that put Quintana on the spotlight.  At 23 years old, Quintana is a rising star that can only get better as time goes by.

Researching the back story of Quintana makes him all the more relatable. Nairo Quintana was not born of wealth and did not come from a pedigree of great cyclists. Quintana grew up in a family of peasant farmers who lived high up in Colombia's mountains. With the walks to school being exhausting for Quintana, his parents worked hard to save up $30 to buy Nairo Quintana his first bicycle, a cheap mountain bike. Nairo would race to and from school, prentending to summit finish once he got back to his house, and that he was King of the Mountains that day. One day his dreams actually materialized as he finally got his chance to enter professional cycling.

Quintana worked hard on Stage four of the race, which had over five summit finishes. The stage was held in freezing temperatures coupled by a relentless rain which wore down the majority of the peloton. Nairo was able to hold a minute and thirty second advantage over the peloton for the majority of the race that day. When the peloton finally caught up to him, Nairo made an attack on the last few meters before the finish, thus winning the stage. On the time trial at stage six, he took another 20 seconds away from the leader of the general classification, securing the overall win.

Nairo Quintana was spectacular to watch and I am looking forward to seeing him further develop his repertoire as more racing comes his way. It's a job well done for Nairo Quintana, and hopefully a sign for what's to follow with Colombian and Latin American talent gaining traction in the cycling world.

My Favorite Things, What They Say about Me, and What Yours Say About You.

These are a few of my favorite things.

Photo Courtesy of Big E's Cycling

Has anyone seen The Sound of Music? If not, I will spare you the agony of having to watch that musical and just tell you that it features a song called "These are a few of my  favorite things" by Julie Andrews . There are some things which as cyclists we eventually develop a taste, an affinity, or even a dependency for. One of these things is coffee.

The Coffee Loving Bicyclist

I am a coffee loving cyclist. In fact, I love coffee so much that I regard myself as a coffee connoisseur. Having had a brief stint working at Starbucks has also reinforced my coffee knowledge, and this was shortly before taking up cycling again. Coffee knowledge is something that personally goes beyond cycling and Starbucks for me. It is a knowledge that has been passed down for generations of coffee addicted Puerto Ricans. In Puerto Rico, Folgers and Maxwell House don't exist, or are very irrelevant to society otherwise.  Nope, in Puerto Rico, one only drinks the pure, undiluted, fine granules that come from high up on the mountain tops.  The coffee is always strong with a low acidity, which gives mental alertness without the constant urge for urinating oneself.

Add to that my love of cycling, and that further inflames my passion for coffee. I could even say it's the other way around, because coffee often times gives me the energy to go on long bicycle rides. I have also been drinking coffee way before it was the cool thing to do, starting at the wee age of six (it didn't stunt my growth or anything like that, I'm an average 5'10").

My love of both coffee and cycling might be running on a parallel course with the rise in popularity and coexistence between these two activities among members of society, specifically millennials entering into their late 20's and early 30's.  But speaking in general terms, excluding my personal background and the fact that in some unfounded sense of grandeur I might even say that I founded this trend, coffee drinking and cycling can say a lot about the person who does so.

Like I just mentioned, most of this crowd is made up of millennials. Who are millennials? They are people who were teenagers during the first ten years of the new millennium, or the 2000's. Those years were a lost generation for us, with societal views and world events which would shape the career choices and lifestyle for many of us who lived through that period. During this same decade, Starbucks started to globalize and become popular among young people, first for it's sales of Frappacinos,  then for it's sales of coffee once we found out how fattening Frappacinos were. Starbucks was a common ground that all young people shared, it didn't matter our walk of life or our popularity, Starbucks took care of us.

Having been a millennial that also makes the implications for other outlooks and personal tastes which many of that generation have a common ground on. Societal views during the 2000's worked against our interests as young people looking for advancement opportunities. Back then there were little if any pre-college credit courses and schools were polarized in the way they taught their students. All the football players in school got a free pass and all of their grades doctored up without so much as a peep from anyone. If you had to dropout of a AP course because you had to work to support your single parent, you were out of luck if you were truly an intelligent person. You now had to share class space with Brutus the Brute. The end result, you may ask? Many millennials are smart people with unfinished college degrees. That means that many of them are either self employed, work freelance, or are very underemployed. That's where the bicycle comes in. As a money saving tool, bicycles give millennials a means of transport without having to spend money on rising gas prices. It is also a form of recreation but can get burdensome, especially on cold days. That's where Starbucks comes in. In cold or inclement weather we retreat back to our comfort zone which supported us during the many times we had nowhere else to go. 

The 2000's and the Bush years also marked the end to what I call the "Build it bigger, bigger is better", years. The financial collapse in 2008 and the great recession of 2011 proved that outsourcing jobs that could be done locally, building subdivisions faster than people could move into them, building superhighways that cut off the lifeline of small communities and putting a Megalomart in every town had left the economy in tatters. By this time, though, the burden of responsibility has been left to our generation of young adults to shoulder. So what is another side interest we enjoy as coffee loving cyclists? Many millennials believe in New Urbanism. If you don't know what that is, it's the movement that really isn't. Its just the result of the surburban sprawl of the early 2000's. Therefore many coffee loving cyclists are also into working at bike shops, cooperatives, organic grocers, privately owned businesses and any other establishment that gives back to the local community. Being that the bicycle also serves a purpose as transportation, many New Urbanists believe in closing distances from home to work by using bike lanes, trains, and other facilities that will enable us to get to where we need  to go by using a car to a minimum or not at all. New Urbanists believe in the concept of having mixed use zoning between commercial and residential spaces, in other words having an apartment building on top of a coffee shop. 

During the years of the financial collapse and the great recession, without a promise of a job many millennials had to rely on their own talents in order to turn a profit. Therefore, many coffee loving cyclists are also artistically inclined.

The bicycle also serves another purpose for the coffee loving cyclist. Many millennials, as a result of a shaky job history or working for themselves, are uninsured or have really bad private insurance. The bicycle serves as a means of keeping us healthy. 

Roadies and Coffee

I'm not going to ignore the correlation between roadie cyclists and coffee. Many in this category are not millennials but are actually ex yuppies from the 80's decade or boomers. That dates many in the roadie coffee category to be in their 50's to 60's. Yuppie roadies like coffee because Starbucks became popular around the time they were having a mid-life crisis, Boomer roadies like coffee because it is considered "Italian" when paired with cycling and thus are trying to emulate the movie "Breaking Away".

Yuppie cyclists have stable jobs and are usually going to be found in the technologies or medical industries. Their bikes are usually brand new and they usually ride in full kit. There is not much difference in the choice of bike for the Boomer, except the Boomer is probably retired and bought the bicycle using his 401K. Both covet and respect vintage Italian road bikes, which I own and they don't (hahahaha). 

Newer roadies, or the sons of yuppie roadies, are not known as coffee drinkers. They usually stick to their food gels and Chamois Butt-r  to get their nutrients from. They also tend to be millennials graced with not having to go through what their less privileged counterparts went through.

I say all of this, generally speaking. There are millennials that probably don't like coffee (I'll disown you if you are my age and don't like coffee) or newer roadies who have the good sense to love coffee. It's not to say that any of these scenarios aren't interchangeable and can be reapplied to the opposite group. But, as a general and broad rule of thumb (I don't want to get accused of stereotyping) this is usually how it goes. This isn't to say that neither of these groups are not relate-able to each other either. The key is to want to relate, and that goes for millennials, yuppies, boomers, the nouveau yuppies, and the nouveau middle class (in this economy, there's not enough nouveau riche, we'll just leave that one out) and anyone else I may have left out, who is a lover of cycling and coffee. 

One thing I can safely say about the coffee loving cyclist, no matter who they are, they love to travel, have an appreciation for the outdoors, and are usually all around good people. By the way, I don't think Lance Armstrong drinks coffee, he just thinks he does.

In conclusion my background as a millennial, my pre-existing love for coffee, art and cycling influences my tastes for my employment, urban development and holistic outlook where quality of life trumps social or economic gain. Not to mention that cycling is also one of my hobbies that are among my favorite things. It stands in the same category as artisan coffees, Italian wine, painting a landscape, vintage photography, playing guitar, hole in the wall restraunts and sitting by the ocean.

 Where do you fit in the picture? What are your favorite things? How does coffee and cycling influence you? Drop me a line in the comments section if you would like to share. Stay tuned and subscribe to my blog for more in depth articles like these. 

Vintage Find: 1940's-1950's Samchuli (Samchuly) Korean Roadster

My 1950's (possibly 1940's) Samchuly Korean Roadster

A few months back I was fortunate to run into this bike on Craigslist and purchased it for less than three digits. This bicycle is one of the first bicycles ever to come out of what is known today as South Korea. It dates back to a time when the Korean War was on the front page of the headlines and it survives as a legacy of that era.

This bicycle is a roadster, meaning a workman's style utilitarian cargo bicycle. The rear cage is so strong I was able to ride the bicycle with my wife also sitting on it. This bike comes with rod lever brakes, as opposed to the cable operated brakes of today. These brakes work using a front and rear rod that pulls up the brake pads and compress them against the inside diameter of the rim. The rims, known as Westwood rims, are made specifically so that the braking surface was on the inside of the rim instead of the sidewalls.

This bike has some really cool details and because of that it is best to leave it unrestored. The only thing I did was to replace the dry rotted front tire with a passable Chinese tire. Even still, the tire wants to ride off the rim so I can only put about 20 psi of air in it. Despite this, this bicycle is still ridable and would work perfectly if the 26" Korean dimensioned westwood rims would be replaced with 26" westwood rims of English dimensions.

Here's a couple of more photos I took of this bike. I decided to go with my studio setup for the pictures, as it is also for sale online. Check out my eBay link or personal message me for more information. This bicycle weighs about 45 pounds, so it will have to be shipped disassembled in two boxes. Enjoy the pictures!

Vintage Find: My Guerciotti

Vintage Find: My 1986 Guerciotti made by Alan

Here is another one of my Campagnolo equipped "grail" finds, my 1986 Guerciotti. This was the first attempt at buiding an aluminum road bike. The frame was built by another company called Alan, which specialized in making lighter composite frames for various bicycle manufacturers. This frame was built by a special process in which the frame tubes are actually screwed and glued into the frame lugs. This process was known as bonding, and was also the process used to build the first carbon fiber frames.

Today I rode this beauty down White Rock Lake. I saw another rider on a steel Guerciotti.  Guerciotti bicycles are a rare bird, so I grabbed his attention and pointed at my bike. He said "An aluminum Guerciotti still on the road?". Apparently there were a few bad apples made that really destroyed the reputation of bonded frames. There are stories of riders flexing the frames with their own weight and frames simply snapping under too much load. I am not the lightest that I have been in a while. Yet this frame holds my 190 pound weight really well. If I had any complaint about it, it would be that the bike is actually almost too stiff for me. It accelerates wonderfully because there is direct power transfer due to it's stiffness. It also is an amazing climber. I was suprised at how quickly I was making it up some of the hills on the lake.  I rode 28 miles in under 2 hours, stopping to take pictures along the way. To me, that's a pretty good speed. If a person weighs more than I do, they should probably not ride this bike anyway. There are Surly Long Haul Truckers that can hold their weight wonderfully.

I'll not abuse this bike very much, to me this bike is like the Ferrari that only gets driven on Sundays. Since I will never be able to afford a Ferrari, this is the closest I will probably get to owning Italian luxury.

It's fun to own bikes almost as old as I am and still be able to enjoy them. There is joy in the hunt when looking for bikes like these, but there is also joy to be had in owning the bike and riding it. People like to accessorize their shoes, suits, hats and even their cars. I accessorize my bicycle. I tend to get bored of only one bike, although if it came down to it I could probably only live with one. But there would be no fun in that. I can't say this will be the last bicycle that I will keep to myself, but definitely one of the last, because I don't plan on making this a long term hobby (and I mean years). I have to focus my attention on other projects and pursuits in the near future. In the meantime, check out some more photos of my vintage Guerciotti.

Guerciotti Headbadge.

Cinelli Criterium Handlebars.

This bicycle is fully equipped with a Campagnolo Victory drivetrain and Campy Record brakes.

Vintage Find- My S.M Woodrup "Grail" Find

My 1985'ish S.M Woodrup Bicycle

So, it's been awhile since I have updated my audience on my latest vintage finds. I have come across a few finds during the winter but I have been too busy ( and lazy, quite frankly) to write articles about them. Most of the finds that I have written previous articles about have already been sold, since there are only so many bikes that I can keep in my garage. Now that I no longer qualify as a candidate for the show "Bike Hoarders", I have made room for a few more sweet bikes that I have recently acquired.

One of them is this S.M Woodrup, one of a kind custom road bike. When I say one of a kind, this bike was hand built in s small shop in Leeds, England, to the exact measurements and specifications of the previous owner that I bought it from. Thankfully the previous owner has the same build and height as I do. It was an easy sell, one which I was able to afford thanks to selling a few bikes of my own. I will remind the reader that most of the time there is little or no money to be made in the bicycle collecting pastime, most of it goes right back into bicycles. I will say that the bicycles that I posses have a greater collector's value than the ones I have sold previously. One must work their way up and eventually leave behind the point of sale market. Anyway, let's talk more about that Woodrup!

Awesome Headbadge emblem! Custom made in Leeds, England

This bicycle is completely Campagnolo equipped, with Campy Syncros shift levers. These were the first attempts at SIS shifting, which Shimano perfected and got the one up on Campy in the bicycle market. Campy Syncros shifting is notorious for the clunkiness of the shift and at times skipping gears. Even with these setbacks, I was able to sustain 18mph for over 20 miles at a time. Not bad for a steel bicycle. The rear derailleur was a setback at first. I had to remove it and readjust the chain tensioner which had snapped in half and come off the derailleur. I managed to piece back the tensioner and re-connect it to the derailleur, giving me a working but I'm afraid not so permanent fix. After a hundred miles it's still holding up, so that's a good sign. On a side note, anyone selling a Campy Athena rear derailleur they could let me have at a good deal?

This bicycle is potentially fast. Like all bicycles, the power is in the engine that drives it. I hope I can ride this bicycle one day at the speed it is supposed to be ridden. That way I can pull an Eddy Merckx-style breakaway on a group of unsuspecting time trial cyclists on the trail. I will say that there are stiffer, lighter and more snappier bicycles out there. But there is definitely a coolness factor to this bike that can't be overlooked. In fact, this bike is so so cool that I finally caved in and topped it off with a Brooks saddle, something I never thought that I would buy for a bicycle. Riding this bike takes me back a couple of decades, and let's me see how the view from an 80's professional race grade bicycle looked like back then. I can feel the same way Miguel Indurain or Bernard Hinault felt back in the day. I'm keeping this one, I've already sold a lot others. I could always entertain a trade for a new Cannondale Supersix Evo Team Liquidgas Edition though. Anyone have one lying around?

Stay tuned for more vintage bicycle articles from a Bicycle's Point of View.

Don't Ruin A Classic

Don't




Ruin




A Classic




Need I say more? Why yes....

Dallas Vs. Austin- Which is better?

Dallas VS Austin

I have walked around both of these city centers, as well as other bike friendly cities around Texas, the U.S and the world. With a little bit of knowledge about Austin and a little bit more about Dallas, I am ready to give an assesement of which of these two cities is better.

Why Dallas and why Austin? Because both of these cities are in Texas. Dallas is a city that I have just recently started to acquaint myself more with having grown up closer to Fort Worth. Austin is the city I have really wanted to love after hearing all the hype from friends who visit there as well as other sources about the city's easy accessibility by bicycle. Austin is also the state capital, so by default one would automatically assume that it is the best city in Texas. People are always singing Austin's praises when talking about Texas cities and Austin is always getting accolades from the cycling community.

I recently both visited Austin and took a walk around downtown Dallas during the daytime to compare which of these two cities had it going on. Let's compare a few pros and cons about my observations of both places.

Austin: Pros and Cons

Pros:

Bikeability- Austin is a very bikable place. The sources got that part right. From the outskirts of the surburbs to the city center, one can go anywhere in Austin by bicycle. That is a asset that Austin has that Dallas is reluctant to capitalize on. I'm sure that if people in Austin actually had a place to be they could count on their reliable bikeway system.

Music capital of Texas and beyond:  Although in all honestly I only saw two bands performing live shows the whole day and one of them was a one man production, Austin is known for it's live music and outdoor concerts such as Austin City Limits and South by Southwest. If you are a lover of music, especially independent label rock music, you will love going to Austin. Again, that's a pro to a lot of people but music just doesn't top my priority list like it used to these days.

Natural Beauty Surrounding City Limits: As I was leaving Austin, I had to acknowledge that the natural scenery around the city is much prettier than in Dallas, Austin being in Texas hill country. I would have loved to explore the Colorado River in more detail, rather than focusing on the downtown area during my last visit. Last year I had the opportunity to go to Pace Bend national park, about 30 minutes south of downtown.  Lake Travis is an awesome place for a weekend camping trip and has some great spots for cliff diving. 

Cons:

Hipsters: Hipsters are migrating south from their Northwestern spawning grounds of Portland and Seattle and their Norheastern burrows of Williamsburg, New York. They seem to be taking over every major metropolitan city and replacing the city culture with something that only they can understand. They seem to give reverence to the single speed bicycle in the same way some Chicanos revere the lowrider bike. Austin is a college town, and although I have seen some hipsters work around the city, most of these young kids in Austin are university students (or dropouts) living on their parent's dime. Most of the young bicycle commuters in Austin didn't seem like they had anywhere in particular to be, unless it was bar hopping by bicycle. I would have liked to have seen more bicycles with baskets and people actually doing real errands on them. Instead you have a bunch of hipsters parading on their single speed bikes for the sole purpose of making a statement about themselves. Maybe I am antiquated in this regard, and I would gladly admit to that if I were ever called out on it. I also feel a certain disdain with the way that hipsters treat their bicycles. They have no moral qualms about taking a classic, hand built 80's Colnago with campy super record components, spray painting it flat black, taking all the components off and adding their stupid track wheelset with a single speed flip flop hub. The way that they treat valuable things says a lot about the persons they are. In my opinion, that makes hipsters spoiled, self-entitled brats that have nothing to contribute to society. Instead, they can take the beauty of a place like Austin and turn it into something butt ugly in their quest to be ironic and original. I'm just glad San Antonio isn't going that route.

4th Street: What can I say? I got hit on at least 3 times going down 4th street, by other dudes. To me, that's a minus.

Where were the Food Trucks?:  Where were all those food trucks that I saw on the Travel Channel documentary? I was looking forward to lunch from a Food Truck while I was walking around downtown. The fabled food trucks never showed up.

Dallas: Pros and Cons

Pros: 

Dallas is Growing: Dallas is starting to go through another construction and cultural boom. Being one of the cities that has held up well financially since the great recession, there has been a massive amount of migration from other states. The result is more money is now being poured into the infrastructure of Dallas. As a result Dallas is becoming a prettier, more walkable city than it used to be. There are still some sections to avoid, but law enforcement has picked up dramatically since the last time I actually worked in the city center, around 2005. 

Dallas has Bike Lanes: Dallas is now started to install bike lanes and sharrows along a few roads in downtown. I have yet to see these on all roads, but there are so many stop lights in Dallas one almost doesn't need the sharrows to keep pace with traffic. It's great to see more cars acknowledging more cyclists, although there was recently a hit and run in the city when a car hit some cyclists in the Deep Ellum district.

Dallas is Stable: Dallas does not suffer from an overabundance of hipsters or the heated and volatile political climate that Austin seems to have. Dallas is like an empty canvas right now, anything can happen. What has happened so far is great and is moving in the right direction. In that sense, Dallas is stable.

Cons:

Dallas has crime: Dallas has real crime. It has always had crime, and it has never been a good idea to walk around the downtown area by oneself at night. The crime rate in Dallas is going down, and with a little common sense, Dallas can be a navigable place, even in the late hours.

Dallas has stubbornness issues: Dallas has a city council that is made up of progressive thinkers as well as old timers. The old timers are desperately trying to please the fringes of the population in Dallas, who are usually made up of other stubborn, old timey people. So bike lanes as well as the Dallas Bike Plan have had a hard time taking center stage when it comes to projects approved by the city. Old timey people generally don't ride their bicycles places, although they should. Bicycling is just not a relevant issue to them. Add to that fact that bicycling is seen as a political issue rather than a community one.

If we were to have  a face off on which city is better, today's Austin would probably beat Dallas by a very narrow margin. Walking around Dallas has made me realize that Dallas isn't far from surpassing Austin as a more bikeable and walkable city. It just needs a push in the right direction. So keep pushing Dallas, keep pushing. Dallas will eventually have a greater coolness factor if it continues on the same trajectory.

Just Checking in

Hello Everyone,

 Sorry it's been a while since my last post. Keep visiting my page from time to time and check out my "Resource Guide" tab which features some real interesting articles along with helpful cycling tips from an unofficial expert (myself, then again, no-not really).

Please keep up the enthusiasm for my blog. I have acquired several more vintage finds since my last articles, some which I might post in the near future. I have been weighing several topics in my head which I have wanted to discuss on my blog, but none of them have seemed worthy of an article so far.

I will however highlight that I went to Austin on a trip recently just to check out the downtown area in more detail. It was a Saturday, and I didn't stick around for the nightlife that Austin is known for, so maybe my opinion is a little skewed. My overall impression of the downtown area was...meh. I was expecting to be more impressed than I actually ended up being. Yes, Austin is very bicycle friendly, but they are way overdoing the hipster thing. Don't get me wrong, as a creative and artistic individual, I like displays of originality and ironic things. That is, until everyone in one area is doing it, then it is no longer original. Case in point, downtown Austin. All the twenty somethings were on single speed bicycles wearing either what I would call a stocking on their heads or dreadlocks, although I am skeptical of there being that many devoted Rastafarians concentrated in just one area. This along with 4th street (for reasons I will not disclose, just go there if you dare) in downtown are my chief complaints about the city. And although I know deep down inside that I'm a cool guy I just wouldn't be able to hang in the city of Austin. It hit me while I was there that I had outgrown this city on a social level. The images of the cyclists that I saw fit like a glove into some of the stereotypes of cyclists Eben Weiss describes in his book "Bike Snob NYC". I wasn't seeing anyone in business suits commuting to work, or anyone that seemed like they even had a bit of responsibility. That kind of turned me off a little bit. In world class bicycle cities like Berlin you see that sort of thing, and as I can recall I didn't see even one hipster throughout my whole visit there. Maybe it's the old man talking, but I doubt it. I'm afraid that in Austin's case cycling has to do the the bigger trend of hipsterdom and Lance Armstrong worship. Once it's no longer cool to be a hipster that might effect the whole bike thing in Austin, at least that is what I fear.

I am currently following some of my own advice and dieting. Yes dieting. I am on a mostly vegetarian diet and am staying away from breads and sugars. I also joined a gym to lose some annoying poundage before the summer (and bike racing season) starts. I am going to try my hand at racing (and probably losing) once again pretty soon. More info on that later. I am strongly considering showing up to an official race on a 30 year old bicycle, so I need to be in shape if I am in it to win it. Anyway, we'll see how that goes.

Let me also add that I do get too busy to blog sometimes. As outrageous as that sounds,  I too suffer from the malignancies of living a normal life and having projects, tasks and errands to run each day. Most of these happenings aren't bicycle related topics, although I do have interesting things happen to me on a regular basis.

Keep reading, subscribe if you are just visiting my page, and stay tuned for more exciting news from a Bicycle's Point of View.

Should I?

Is it time to sell the Raleigh?

My 2007 Raleigh Sport. My only modern road bike

I'm having a struggle coming to terms on whether or not I should sell my Raleigh Sport road bike. I have seen a couple of nice Italian "grail finds" listed on craigslist recently and I have been debating on getting them. That would mean I would have to sell my most modern road bike that I own in order to purchase another one. Should I sell my modern, STI equipped aluminum road bike for something that might have a full Campagnolo and Cinelli gruppo  and made of Reynolds 531 tubing? Should I break my six year relationship with this bicycle that reintroduced me to the world of cycling? 

This is a not so new thought that I have been having. I bought this bicycle off the shelf as a beginner's bicycle to get into cycling. I never upgraded anything on the bike, everything is stock except the tires and handlebar tape. I have pushed this 25 pound bike over 18mph average speed on 30 mile rides. I have ridden over 3,000 miles on this bike alone and have taken it over rolling hills in the countryside as well as around the DFW airport. Recently I got back on it after a while of riding my older, steel framed bicycles. The ride was jarring to say the least. I guess I have gotten accustomed to the flex the steel frames provide as well as the dampening effect of the thicker 27" tires. I averaged a slow 15.9 mph overall speed on a 22 mile ride (granted I was fighting against 24mph headwinds) the last time I rode it. Maybe I have let the older bikes make me seek too much comfort rather than speed, although I do not feel like I am going any slower on my old bikes.

I have always had the mentality of "If it's not broken don't fix it" when it comes to my bicycles. So far I have thrown everything I could at this Raleigh, and its still going strong. But I do want to go faster and am hard pressed not to at least upgrade this bike to make it a little lighter. Maybe replacing the chromoly fork with a carbon fork and the current wheelset with a low spoke count one. But if for the same price I can get me a custom made Italian bicycle I am almost persuaded to sell my bike for an old school "upgrade".

The other option is just to keep this bicycle and work at upgrading it's engine (that's me). Parenting duties, shorter days and bad weather have kept me off the saddle more than I would have wanted to this winter. In other words, compared to a few years ago I'm probably fat. In fact, if my cheap scale is telling the truth, I am 15 pounds heavier than I was last year. So the engine probably needs a sugar and carb free diet to get lean and mean again.

What do you think, keep it as is and upgrade the engine, upgrade components, or trade in for old Italian steel? Send me your opinion in the comment box below.

What's an Old Bicycle Worth These Days?

Vintage Bicycles: Perceived value versus actual value

To the collector and reseller, with time one learns to understand that the business of buying, owning, and selling vintage bicycles is mostly supported on the perceived value of the item that is being purchased, sold or collected. While it is true that most things depreciate over time (the automobile being the best example of that) not all things are equal, and some things actually appreciate in value as they become rarer and rarer with the passing of time. So what bicycles depreciate and what bicycles hold or increase in their value? What are some things to look for when collecting vintage bicycles? And how can bicycles become a fixed asset that yields dividends when it's time to sell?

Let's consider the first question. Today's bicycles, as well as some of yesteryear's, are manufactured with depreciation in mind. If we were to compare a Huffy from last year with a Huffy from 20 years ago, they would both be worth $40 today. You can, however, up sell a bicycle on the perceived value of it, according to the current trends and what is popular at the moment. A few years ago when road bikes soared in popularity, I managed to sell one Huffy road bike for $200. Granted, I pulled the wool over a newbie's eyes when I did it, but being a newbie myself at the time I hold no qualms about it today. Road bikes started to become more expensive after 2008, with the most basic models selling at $800. Everybody seemed to want one, and there was a big wave of consumer demand for them at the time. This proves that even a Huffy can sell big in the right market.

There are some bikes however, that are worth keeping around as real investments. When money is short they can serve as a financial relief when it's time to sell. Plus they are bikes that someone will want to keep because of the quality of their craftsmanship and their rarity in the market. They are sometimes referred to as "grail finds" since to some they are like finding the Holy Grail when coming upon one. If someone is buying bicycles only to sell them, I believe they are missing the point. While not promoting people to become hoarders, there is nothing wrong with a reseller having a small private collection of these grail find bicycles. Which leads me to the next question in this topic, what bicycles are considered grail finds, and what are some things to look for when determining the collectivity of a bicycle?

Anything Italian- Anything Italian, if it is in the U.S, is usually a grail find. Vintage bicycles from Italy were usually hand made and imported into the United States when bike boomers wanted to ride what the pros were riding. Any Bianchi pre-1990 is worth a closer look, especially if it is a celeste green colored Bianchi. Brands that hold their value or have increased in value include Colnago, Gios, Atala, Frejus, Cinelli, Guerciotti, Ciocc, Legnano, Magistroni, Basso, Zeus, and the list goes on and on. So if there is a bicycle at an estate sale or on an online classified with a funny name, the best thing to do is at least call and inquire a little bit about it. If it's at a good deal, just buy it outright without questions. Sometimes too many questions may raise suspicions in the owner's mind that what they have is worth much more than what they are selling it for.

Campagnolo- An Italian bicycle parts manufacturer that usually made drive train components for high end bicycles, although the bicycle may not necessarily be Italian in origin. Known otherwise as Campy, for short, bicycles that come with this brand of components are almost guaranteed to be high end, top of the line racing machines. If you are not sure about buying a bicycle, but notice that it is campy equipped, buy it without delay. The components might be worth more than the price paid for the bicycle.

Reynolds 531- The gold standard of steel tubing for quality bicycles of the past. Used in the Tour De France with victories as recent as 1995. There will usually be a sticker on the frame or fork indicating that it is made with Reynolds 531 tubing. Many of these bicycles can still compete with today's bicycles in most local races held.

Intricate Lugs- Intricate, chromed or polished lugs on a bicycle are usually a sign of something high end and very valuable. If there is a cutout on the bottom of the bottom bracket,  usually in the shape of a clover or spade, this is usually either a Colnago or a Ciocc. Alan bonded aluminum frames also came with polished lugs, so lugs are not limited to steel bikes only.

Rod Lever or Roller Lever Brakes- Featured on Dutch cargo bicycles or on Asian or English 3 speed bicycles. These bicycles are usually equipped with westwood rims, which allow the brake pads to brake from inside the rim diameter rather than on the sidewalls. These bikes are rare in the United States and are only still common in India and China as working class or utilitarian modes of transport. They are increasing in popularity here in the U.S as a fashion item and as a result of the burgeoning cargo bike community. Depending on the condition, the value of these bicycles start at $400 and up. 

Skip tooth Chain and sprockets-  A skip tooth chain is indicative of any bicycle made in the U.S before the second world war, therefore rare and very valuable if in very good condition. The most valuable example of this is a pre-war Schwinn Paramount track racing bicycle. Some have sold online for as much as $8,000 in the past. However, skip tooth chain cruisers, or paper boy bikes as they were once called, are steadily losing their demand in the collector's market. These bicycles featured a tank with a built in horn or wiring for a front headlight. Mountain bike pioneers would strip these bicycles of their fenders and tanks and take them on the trail with knobby tires. I still see the asking price on some of these bicycles around $2,000, but seldom do I see a reserve price being met at auction.

Keep some of the tips in mind when treasure hunting for a collector's bicycle. While some of the bicycles being made today are likely to one day become collector's items, for the good majority of the bicycles being built today that is not the case. Overseas manufacturing has killed most prospects of future collectivity on many new bicycles. The lifespan of a carbon fiber bicycle is five years. The consumer who usually pays top dollar for a carbon bike will want a new one even though it might not be necessary to replace the one they have. After five years a bicycle that cost five grand will be worth only a thousand and less and less after each consecutive year. I have seen carbon fiber bicycles from the 90's being sold for only $150-$200 here locally. So while it's tempting to shell out a few grand on the latest technology, the best buy for the average person that isn't racing in the Tour De France is probably an older bicycle in good condition. Get fitted at the bike shop first, then buy a bicycle on the classifieds later. Fittings are usually free and an incentive shops offer to get people to buy their products. Once the used bicycle is purchased, visit the shop for tires, brakes and other components which may have worn out over time. This is another way to support the local bike shop without fattening the industries profits on the top end. I hope these tips have helped the reader to evaluate the price and collectivity of their old bicycle.