Gone Mountain Biking

 Are we entering into a new era of off road dominance? 

To some, it's an era we never left.

There was a time when the humble mountain bike covered almost all aspects of non-competitive cycling. A short trip to the grocery store? Check. Your commute to class? Check. A ride around town or to a friend's house? Check. A weekend getaway to your local trails? Check. In the beginning, there was one bike to rule them all. It was not a fancy carbon road bike costing in the thousands. It wasn't even a gravel bike as in those days we've never even heard of the concept. It was the old school, twenty six inch wheel diameter, horizontal top tube, diamond framed mountain bike with optional (not de facto) suspension. This was a time dominated by cyclists who rode the sidewalk where they existed or rode the shoulders of roads in their area. Fanny packs and saddle bags ruled supreme, and helmet use was still optional. Bicycles were simple, analog machines with cable actuated gears and brakes that anyone with a basic set of tools could learn to service from their backyard. Recently, I have noticed a longing for simpler times and the market slowly gravitating towards the kind of riding that most people who don't call themselves cyclists have been doing for years.  For good reason, as the biggest demographic of cyclists has been underserved by the trends that have dominated for so long that it is hard to remember there existed a time before them.

In the past 30 years, the U.S has gone through three cycling popularity waves. This doesn't include the great bike boom era of the 1970's because that era is well in the rear view mirror of time now. The first wave of cycling popularity came around 1989 and lasted until about the year 2000. This is the era that I will refer to as "Gone Mountain Biking" because of a meme I saw a few years ago on a cycling forum on this very subject. This era coincided with Greg Lemond's last Tour De France victory and the rise of Lance Armstrong in subsequent years. The early years of this era counted on some very good marketing approaches such as televised races and appearances of mountain bikes in shows and sitcoms (does anyone remember Jerry Seinfeld's Klein that hung inside his home?). Road biking during this time was both a niche sport and arguably more dangerous than it is today, although in this article we will discuss the return of those dangers that kept cyclists off the roads during that time. During the entire decade of the 90's, I cannot remember one person that owned a road bike. Aside from a few 70's Schwinns that would occasionally pop up at pawn shops there was no trace of any curvy handlebar bikes anywhere in society. One can argue that I was observing society then through the lens of a child and maybe I would of noticed road cyclists more had I been paying attention, but I can honestly say that during that decade I didn't see a single one. I didn't know those bikes existed until the late 90's and only through watching the Tour De France.

Imagine a society that only rode on rigid or hardtail mountain bikes for recreation and in a nutshell you have what cycling was like in the 90's. I was first made aware of road cycling as a sport in the early 2000's, but still had no connection personally to what it meant to be a road cyclist. Around 2003, a friend of mine showed me his Cervelo Time Trial bike he used when he competed in South Africa. That was the first time I got to see one up close and I remember the twinkle in my eye when he told me how far he could ride on that bike. I think I already owned one of those yellow Livestrong bracelets during those years. A few years later, around 2007 I bought my first road bike. My interest in road cycling coincided with Lance Armstrong's return to cycling in 2009 when he rode for team Radio Shack. With an ambassador for the sport domestically, road cycling enjoyed a resurgence in popularity for a few more years. This popularity led to improvements on multi-use trails nationwide and a much larger national conversation about the health benefits of cycling as well as it's use for transportation. All of these efforts came crashing down around 2012, when Armstrong became a disgraced figure in the sport over his use of performance enhancing drugs. This era is what I refer to as the Lance Era, spanning in earnest from about 2003 to 2012.

Since 2012 the popularity of cycling has waned and is now suffering a slow atrophy. Road cycling has traditionally been exclusive in its ability to attract new people into the sport. From it's cost of entry (road bikes being some of the most expensive) to the lack of infrastructure to ride safely it would seem like road cycling is a sport practiced by daredevils and those with a death wish. Instead of local municipalities addressing the concerns of cyclists, the nationwide construction booms for housing have not made any concessions to cyclists on the roads. Many neighborhoods are still being built without sidewalks and many cities are not adding bike lanes or protected shoulders for those who wish to commute by bike. Roads are getting busier while at the same time less maintained. Adding to the difficulty of being a cyclist on the roads, most new truck or SUV grills are on average four feet tall, making it difficult to notice a cyclist riding at about the same height as the grill. The average consumer of road cycling equipment are men over the age of 40. Many who have been at this for a while are now hanging up their road bikes in favor of E-bikes, or simply no longer riding at all. While some Millennials and even some Zoomers are picking up cycling, they are more the exception than the rule and many are chasing the clout that social media showcases them. It is difficult to know whether this new generation of road cyclists that is small in numbers will stick to the sport the way the generations before them did. While the road cycling genre sputters to stay alive, a new movement has been slowing gaining traction and should make it's day view as the next big wave of the sport.

Gravel biking has been discussed in the cycling circles way before the first bikes were marketed to the public. I first heard of it in the early 2010s through cycling forums and blogs, which referred to gravel biking as gravel grinding, randonneuring or underbiking. Before purpose built, race gravel bikes were invented, many would fashion gravel bikes out of cyclocross bikes, old mountain bikes or 70's road bikes with clearances for 650b wheels. Here in the states, some of the first gravel events were held in rural parts of the country, such as the Trans Iowa hosted by it's inventor Guitar Ted. Some of the oldest events in my area are the Texas Chainring Massacre and the Red River Riot. Gravel bikes are constantly undergoing a metamorphosis leaning either towards becoming a road bike or back to a mountain bike. Seeing as how gravel events are similar to early XC mountain biking events, I would say that we are on a return to the "Gone Mountain Biking" era. After all, gravel bikes are marketed as do it all bikes, a trait that they share with some of the first mountain bikes. It seems like the gravel bike trend is becoming a segway as more road cyclists get off the pavement and onto rail trails, country dirt roads and eventually mountain bike trails.

With no "Lance Era" spokesperson left for cycling in the U.S, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the hard fought and delicate space we have created for ourselves on the roads. As the nation reverts back into it's car centric identity, the notion of looking out for or respecting other road users quickly vanishes from the collective consciousness of drivers. Maybe this is a phenomenon only witnessed in new suburbia or other sprawling communities, yet it is impactful to society at large as well as  in the world of cycling. People will always use their bicycles. The question is going to be how they do so moving forward. Many who were once remote workers during the pandemic have had to return to the office, further adding to the gridlock that exists on the roads. Will people who love cycling simply be forced to move to where there is more infrastructure for it, or move so far out into a remote area where there's no cars to worry about? Or will we see a "Gone Mountain Biking" part 2 play out in this decade, with road bikes falling into obsolescence for a few years?  I can only speak from my own experience that I am now using my road bike less and less and find myself driving out to paved trails when I do. I figure since I'm driving either way it might as well be to a mountain bike trail. Also, mountain bikes have bigger tires for all of the rough surfaces I have to deal with when out on the roads. So, in a way I've never left that "Gone Mountain Biking" era and I feel it will eventually come full circle at some point in the next few years. It was nice being a road cyclist while it lasted, but I have always been and will continue to be on a mountain bike.

 

     

For Old Times Sake...

 Demonitized, de-incentivized and irrelevant as time has moved on...

...But I'm still here.

    I remember a time when Google would send me a $100 check in the mail every year for my blog contributions on Blogger. It was always a treat to see proof that people were engaging with my written content and it made me feel good as an amateur columnist of the internet. Those were the days when people read instead of scrolled. The modern day chat forums were in their infancy and if most people were interested in researching a topic they would turn to blog posts instead of going on YouTube. 

A lot of good ideas and good intentions have now gone by the wayside. Technology has left them behind as well as the fickle nature of people's constant wandering interests. Every once in a while, something is picked up from the rubbish heap and trended for a few days on social media. A good idea can be acknowledged with a fleeting curiosity, given a self righteous lip service then tossed back in the heap for a few more years. The truth is, all good ideas are filtered through the sea of bad ones, making it impossible for them to prevail. They are constantly tumbling in an ever changing media spin of trends and content that is making the world's head spin. Society is primed and ready for a Fahrenheit 451 scenario, all too ready to stop reading, critically thinking, creating and imagining all together. Here's the thing, if good ideas were allowed to flourish, progress would be made and our society as a whole would be improved. However, only be bad ones prevail because they promote inequality and division instead of collaboration, inclusion and a societal baseline safety net. Bad ideas only benefit a small group of people who hold the most power, instead of giving more power to the people. Social media has become the coping mechanism for the masses, a means of consuming the fantasies of wealth and status (whether real or imaginary) that the privileged few occasionally decide to share with us. Meanwhile, the infrastructure projects that would improve people's lives are quietly shelved or hollowed out of funds on a local, state and federal level so that a bigger football stadium can be built in one town or more parking space for giant SUVs and trucks can be added in another.

Reading the list of transportation initiatives that have failed to thrive in the past ten years would easily read like a eulogy.  Mixed use zoning was a way of property developers to make overpriced, luxury apartments that gentrified long standing neighborhoods. Bicycle transportation networks have resulted in many trails that lead to nowhere. Sharrows no longer get repainted by city maintenance. Rental bikes were often vandalized, stolen or tossed around towns and college campuses as road debris. Whatever happened to that bullet train that was supposed to go from Dallas to Houston? Whatever happened to that trail that was supposed to connect Dallas to Fort Worth? What ever happened to many cities 2030 walkability plans? Was that bond money re-allocated to say, having the nation's largest High School football stadium only to be outdone by another town the following year? How about the policing and fare enforcement of DART rail? How did DART go from being one of the largest rail networks in the country to one of the most poorly maintained, and dangerous to ride on? Why does most new city planning in new areas not include sidewalks or bicycle infrastructure? Why are SUVs and trucks 3 times the size that they were 10 years ago as well as 3 times as fatal? Why do public works projects like installing a traffic light now take a year or more to complete?

The changing landscape that has resulted as bad ideas have taken over have left us in the DFW cycling community with little recourse as our roads have slowly become unrideable over the past few years. The post pandemic population explosion has also added more vehicles to an already strained, unkept road infrastructure. All of these new vehicles have grills and headlights taller than a child's head in the front, resulting in poor visibility to the driver and over reliance on lane and other object sensors. Now, already distracted drivers on their phones are behind the steering wheels of much more fatal weapons. What is a road cyclist to do these days?

The truth is, it is expensive to live near any cycling infrastructure as properties that are built or around existing trails are fetching a premium. In addition to these locations having always been expensive and cost prohibitive, the current mortgage interest rates and property values have deemed areas that once could be aspired to as un-obtainium. For long time locals in the area, moving to another part of the state is simply not doable. The result of all of this is that we now face a grim choice as cyclists if we are to continue doing the sport we love; cycle indoors or quit cycling. In recent years, indoor cycling has enjoyed a resurgence as more technology has been thrown into smart trainers and virtual reality cycling software. I guess when reality sucks the only way to keep fitness gains and be a part of the community is through virtual workouts. As a user of indoor trainers there is nothing I hate more than burning the rubber on my rear bike tire sitting in place or an hour, sweating puddles and giving myself crotch pain trying to push out watts on a traditional trainer. However, with how bad the situation has gotten on the roads I am seriously contemplating buying a smart spin bicycle that can work with virtual riding software. Even with a mischievous toddler and limited space in my home this option seems wiser than riding out of the neighborhood sometimes. 

Driving to the trails isn't much of a better option. The nearest trail to nowhere that is paved is still a good 30 minutes away from my house. To get to a premium riding destination is about an hour drive. I have a few mountain biking trails that are closer, but extreme weather can keep those trails closed weeks at a time. Up until a few years ago, I lived near trails or lived in a bike friendly town. I would routinely get rides in as often as 3 times a week. I had fitness, I had drive and I was in the right environment for cycling. When we bought our first home in many years we were priced out of the areas I had lived in previously. We bought into a new community which was at time a small neighborhood surrounded by quiet, rural roads. In a matter of just a few years, the growth in the area has exploded, but the roads aren't any better. Several neighborhoods are now built or being built in the area. Newcomers who don't respect the slower pace of rural life are tearing up the once tranquil, idyllic roads. The new home we bought as a family has become a money pit of problems caused by rushed construction and rolling black outs in the area. We are in the golden handcuffs scenario as having a mortgage rate too low to refinance and no way of lowering our mortgage payment elsewhere. So unless I leave Texas altogether, there is no moving back to the city or closer to bike trails anytime soon. 

As I get older, the more irrelevant  I become. My cycling peers of a similar age have already moved over to the dark side of cycling, aka indoor cycling. Road cycling isn't attracting a younger audience like it did when I started riding, one could even argue that it has always struggled to find its footing with younger people. The fact that I am choosing to blog about it in 2024, when the written language is going the way of analog film cameras, is my therapy and way of coping with life's changes. We are in a malaise era in a lot of ways, but this is probably the worst time to be a cyclist on the roads of north Texas than any other period of time that I can remember . In the grand scheme of things, my problems are only a ripple effect pointing to a much larger moral bankruptcy in our society today. 

It's official that the millennial generation that I am a part of has finally grown up, peaked and fallen out of style and favor with the generation coming behind it. Despite this, I am still here in the sense that I will continually adapt to life's changes and will do my best to make the best of getting older. I do not really feel like my time has passed. There is very little evidence of change of who I am on the outside as well as how I feel on the inside. I must admit, however that the rest of the world is moving on and away from those in my age group, especially in terms of deeming them a target audience in the fitness community. I get more targeted ads for investing and politics than I get for new bikes. No matter what, I will keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, one pedal stroke at a time.

Hotter N' Hell 2015: How Did it Go?

The 2015 Hotter N' Hell Hundred

Carlos (Center of the photo) finished the ride in 5:10, Levi (Left hand side) came in 10 minutes after me (on the Right). I finished the ride with an elapsed time of 5:38 and a moving time of 5:10.

With the hot month of July we had this year, I thought this year's Hotter N' Hell was going to be a scorcher. Well, it was, in the sense that I am now officially a "Scorcher", or a sub 6 hour century rider. The actual temperature itself averaged in the low 80's, freakishly cool for this time of year in what is supposed to be the hottest part of the country right now.  I am by no means complaining that it wasn't hot enough. You see the guy in the blue, long sleeved jersey in the photo above? Yep, that's me, dressed up trying to protect myself from the sun. The cool, overcast and breezy day kept me fresh on the bike and contributed to my performance.

The first 50 miles of the race, as opposed to last year's Hotter N' Hell, were the hardest.  The roads were so bumpy that even my Selle SMP TRK saddle didn't help to take the edge off the harshness of the ride. I rode the last couple of miles to the 50 mile rest stop standing on my pedals and cramping. At the rest stop, I ate a hot dog and knocked back a few bottles of pickle juice. That might sound disgusting, but after 15 minutes the cramping started to go away. My cramps were so bad that I had to slowly remount and pedal the bike once I was on my way. The pickle juice basically saved me from falling off the pace, maybe even from ending my ride early.

At the starting line.

The 50 mile rest stop.

I rode the rest of the ride at my own pace and wasn't even looking at my average speed until the end of the ride. I caught several pacelines on the way to the finish, dropping back whenever I needed to recover or when I needed a swig of water. I  only stopped one other time at the 85 mile mark, because I had run out of water by that point. I tried to fill up my bottles as quickly as I could and was off to the finish line.

This year was about breaking my personal record, as well as redemption for having been the last among my friends to cross the finish line. I not only broke my record by over two hours but I now can start at the front of the race with all of the other "Scorchers" should I decide to do this again next year. The Hotter N' Hell is basically the one event a year we non-professional riders can aspire to. It's a great event and a bucket list item if you are a cyclist living in Texas that takes riding seriously. If you have a fleeting interest in the sport then this ride is not for you. This race is tough, even though this year it wasn't particularly hot, cyclists still had to turn the pedals for a 100 miles to finish it. Last year we had temperatures around 103 and headwinds of 20 mph for the last 30 miles of the race. In years like that it takes the entire year to train up for a 100 mile race. I'm glad things worked out the way they did this year, because I have not been training as much as I did last year and in years past. This might very well be the last century ride that I do in August, although next year I'm looking at going to Hotter N' Hell for the triple threat. We'll see what happens next year.

Johnny's Mobile Bicycle Repair

2016 Update: We just got our service vehicle for mobile repairs!

Check out my new website at www.johnnysbikes.com

Readers of my blog already know that I'm an experienced bike mechanic. For the past 6 years, I have been in and around bike shops building bicycles and doing everything from changing flat tires to advanced services like hydraulic disc brake bleeds. The truth is, I live, breathe even bleed bikes. Is that all I'm good at? Readers who follow my blog know the answer to that also. Although I have done photography as a business and have an affinity for drawing, repairing bicycles is the thing that I currently enjoy the most, the thing that I can focus my attention on. I have always been a hands-on kind of guy. I have had office jobs that I have hated and know myself well enough to say I rather work standing up and moving around than sitting down, fixated on a computer screen. That is where the idea of Johnny's Mobile Bike Repair came up.

I actually started brainstorming on this idea almost six months ago, debating the feasibility of working for myself as a home based but traveling bicycle mechanic. I realized that I already possessed most of the tools and the knowledge needed to put the idea into practice. I started advertising a couple of weeks ago and now I'm starting to gain a following on Facebook and from business referrals.

Back in Business! Mobile bike mechanic Servicing the north DFW area and Collin County

The concept is actually pretty simple, one most established bike shops wouldn't even dream of considering. What if the customer didn't have to go to the bike shop? What if the mechanic came to them, picked up their bicycle, fixed it and delivered it back to them within a reasonable amount of time? This is how Johnny's Mobile Bicycle Repair works. In addition, I do concessions for customers with large cargo bicycles to have them repaired on site. In other words, I will at times bring my tools and perform repairs at the customer's home, based on how I see fit. Because it is impossible to haul a garage full of tools everywhere I go, I can only do on site repairs on an as needed basis.  

My shop bench with the tools of the trade.

I have plenty of rack storage to handle a decent sized workload.

So far the reception has been positive and I have had a steady stream of work trickling in. Hopefully this business will grow as more people in the DFW area find out about me. Here are some of the services that I am currently offering.

-Tune ups starting at $50

-Brake bleed services

-Bicycle Restorations

-Parts replacement and install

-Bike builds and tear downs for travelers

-Frame powdercoating

-Rust removal*

-..and much more

I am a full service bicycle shop based in my garage. There is little that I can not do and no part that I can't order. Not having a commercial overhead or a retail business is what allows me to offer my services at competitive prices with a fast turnaround. I encourage all customers to have their parts purchased if they want to replace anything on the bicycle before making an appointment. I stock a variety of basic parts but do not stock bicycle components. I can order anything but that will delay the repair by one to two weeks. 

I have the ability to fix all kinds of bicycles, however my target audience is the adult bicycle market. The parts that I stock are mostly for road bikes and mountain bikes. I can fix cruisers, BMX bikes, recumbents and tandems, however I will have to order parts in to work on those bicycles. I say this to be as transparent as possible to anyone wishing to use my services. 

Find me on Facebook, email me or call me if...

-you love cycling and riding your bike

-you are tired of the turnaround times at your local bike shop

-you resent the overinflated prices being charged to you

-your club needs a wrench and the established shops are ignoring you

-you are an avid mountain biker

-you commute by bike
-you do triathlons

-you are a roadie, fixed geared hipster, old guy on a recumbent, vintage retro-grouch, all of the above, call me if you love to ride whatever bike it may be

If you are this kind of customer, I can definitely help you out. My goal is to grow my business within the dedicated community of cyclists, and give cyclists freedom of choice rather than forcing them to take their bicycles to a bike shop every time they need something fixed on it. No matter what the make and model is on your bicycle, I will not turn down anybody who loves cycling.


 There is a minimum onsite service fee of $50 that I charge every time I go out. This means that the customer must purchase $50 or more worth of services. If the customer purchases a tune-up and that is all they need, the service fee will also cover the cost of the tune-up. Additional gas fees may apply if living outside Collin County.  The turnaround for ordering parts and fixing a bicycle is about two weeks. If parts are not needed, it takes me approximately two hours to perform any extensive repair, about 30 minutes to an hour to perform a basic tune.

*I remove rust on chrome plated parts and components only.

Check out my Facebook page for more information at www.facebook.com/bicycledoctor

Stay tuned for more informative posts from A Bicycle's Point of View.

The Collin Classic 2015

The 2015 Collin Classic

That's me on the left in the 7up jersey. Ken on the right of me joined me on this ride.

I have been riding regularly for the past few months in preparation for the Collin Classic Bicycle Rally, held annually in Mckinney, Texas. The Collin Classic has three route choices including a metric century of about 64 miles. Being that I had to head out of town almost immediately after the ride, I opted for the 46 mile distance. I averaged 18.5 miles an hour for the whole ride, finishing in 2:42 and so far it is the fastest average speed that I have logged for the distance that I rode. This year I bought a new road bike from Bikes Direct to try to set a personal record for average speed over long distances. The Motobecane Super Strada is proving to be a wonderful ride with the latest technology that I was able to purchase for an even 1k, including taxes. There will be a future review coming up on that bike. 

My friend Ken joined me and rode the same distance as well. It proved to be the longest ride he had ever done. Here are a few photos of the ride.

The early bird gets the worm! We were the first people to show up at the starting line.

No bicycle rally can be complete without a legit blue bear mascot.

Next up is the Hotter N' Hell. I'm still on the fence on whether or not I will be doing it this year. I want to continue to improve my fitness and hopefully meet my goal of a 20mph average.  We'll see what happens.

The Hotter N' Hell Hundred Mile Bike Ride: My First Century

The Hotter N' Hell Hundred: A Texas Tradition of Suffering

Sunday Morning Crit Race.

It's 2 o' clock in the afternoon. The sun beams down on my skin, attempting to sizzle in a sunburn through my mesh gloves and every exposed section on my body. Around me there is carnage; riders strewn across the road, some convulsing with heat strokes, some leaning against their bikes, staring with steely eyed, glazed expressions out into the nothingness of the prairie land. Some rider's bikes have broken down and ill equipped riders stand perplexed not knowing how they are going to change their flat tire. As I ride along past these mangled and distressed characters, I know there is little that I can do to help them; I have my own plight to contend with. I have another 18 miles to go, however between me and the finish line is a constant 20 mile an hour headwind to contend with. 

I couldn't figure out which was hotter, the wind which was blowing in my face or the sun burning me from above. The wind covered me with a fine coating of red dust from the famous red river on the Texas-Oklahoma border. My legs are on auto pilot at this point, turning the lowest gears of my bike in order to keep spinning. I could barely move the bike over 12 miles an hour for the rest of the way. "I have to keep going, I have to survive this" I kept telling myself. As I struggled for survival, in the sense of making it within the cutoff time of eight hours and literally my own physical survival, I kept asking myself "How did anyone talk me into this?"

After the Collin Classic, I was almost sure that I wouldn't be doing another big ride for the rest of the year. I was making friends outside the sport and becoming interested in other types of physical activities. I was playing pickup soccer games on the weekends, working out at the gym, losing weight, feeling good.

Meet my friend Levi. Yes, he's the one posing awkwardly with the horse statue. Levi and I have been riding on and off for a couple of years now. We had been toying around with the idea of doing the Hotter N' Hell for the past year, but neither of us had committed until about a month before the ride. 

Having had my first Sunday morning off in a really long time I met Levi and another friend Carlos for a few laps around White Rock Lake in Dallas. That's when the idea finally materialized. I told Levi that I would ride the Hotter N' Hell and train for the next three weeks before the ride to get my miles and my endurance up. By the day of the event we were averaging 18.5 miles an hour on every ride, and riding over 30 miles at a time. This is the absolute fittest on a bike that I have ever been. I have been lighter as a rider in the past but never this fast. Even at this level of fitness and training nothing could prepare me for what lied ahead. 

We rented a RV camper since by the time everybody decided that they were in all the hotels in Wichita Falls had been booked. I managed to talk another friend, Raymond, into doing the ride with us. Raymond organized the RV rental and put the cash upfront to get us to Wichita Falls. At 44 years old, Raymond is a beast on the bicycle. He finished the ride in a little under 6 hours, with time to spare to take a shower, come back to the finish line and wait another hour for me before I finally got there. 

From right to left: Raymond, Levi, myself and Carlos

The RV Camper we rented!

Here we go!

Being the youngest one there, I was the brattiest one in the group and therefore the butt of everybody's jokes for the weekend. On Friday night before the race, I had so much pre-race anxiety (and caffeine) that I didn't sleep at all. I kept everybody awake with my rolling around in bed. Finally, I got up at 4 in the morning and took a shower, double and triple checked my bike and gear, and started to get ready for the ride. Everybody was pissed that I had woken them up. "You crazy" was basically all I heard Levi say, for the rest of the weekend. 

We made it to the starting line early, and got some good spots in the scorcher section, although I had signed up for the Keeper category. Scorchers try to finish the ride between 5 and 6 hours, Keepers are 6 to 8 hours. 

Left to Right: Levi, Carlos and Raymond

I was the prankster on the group, on the far left.

This year I have had a love affair with my Woodrup bike. It survived the Collin Classic and a whole summer of training hard for the Hotter N' Hell. It has pretty much been my go to bike for long rides and hard efforts. Carlos calls my bike "La Poderosa" or the powerful one, conjugated in the feminine tense, so it's more like "My powerful girl" in Spanish. I'm going to stick with that from now on, and call my Woodrup La Poderosa. 

"La Poderosa"

The first 50 miles were literally a breeze, as in we had the breeze pushing us the whole way. I averaged 20 miles an hour, up and down rollers and easily keeping up with the rest of the guys. The 50 mile rest stop was awesome. They had hot dogs, baked cookies and free massages. It was like a siren's beckoning call, and I stayed for almost 30 minutes at this stop, way too long for my own good. Little did I know that all that stalling would catch up to me later. I would get caught in the blasting furnace of what this event is renowned for, being hotter than hell (or at least hotter than having your head stuck in an oven for 3 hours). 

At one of the earlier rest stops, hanging out with the Comic Con crew.

At the 50 mile rest stop. I don't think the chubby guy made it though.

At the second to last rest stop there was a long line to have our water bottles filled. One lone tree stood outside the service tent, where a couple of old dudes and some Nigerians were hanging out. I asked one of them how far we had left and if the route ever turned with the wind. "You don't have the ""butt"" to push against the wind", one of the old guys said, and no, he didn't say butt, he used the other word. One of the Nigerian guys told me that I couldn't bring my bike under the tree, as if it was his tree to make the rules. I'm guessing the heat had made everybody ornery, but the ridicule these guys gave me served as fuel to make it across that finish line. 

This story does have a happy ending. With everything I had, I pedaled myself, at least 15 pounds of gear including water bottles, my digital SLR camera (I was wearing a Camelbak) and my 1980's steel bike across the finish line in a time of 7 hours and 46 minutes. I didn't break any records, I had stopped at least five times for water and lunch, but I made it. Making it is such a big deal that you get a medal once you cross the finish line. For as many people who make the hundred miles, there are many who don't. Many end up riding the SAG wagon of shame, or worse, end up riding back in an ambulance or being air lifted by a helicopter. The 103 degree heat is real and so are the risks. I myself had heat exhaustion for the rest of the day, kept saying things that didn't make sense and ordered a chili fry appetizer with chili fries and mash potatoes for the main course of my dinner. Maybe I was subconsciously starved for carbs, I don't know. 

Will I do it again? Most definitely. The tradition of suffering must continue, even if it's only for a few more times. The next time I ride the Hotter N' Hell, I'll be better prepared. I might take the plunge and get a carbon fiber tri-bike if I ever put this event on my calendar again. That would be much to the displeasure of my wife, but I figure that 18.5 miles an hour average speed on a steel bike is the fastest I'm going to be able to take an 80's racing bike. It's no longer about the rider, I have reached my physical limitations. The bike and my gear need to help me go faster now. Steel bicycles are still the best. They are the most comfortable, most durable bikes someone can own. There is no way I'll get rid of my steelie. But if I'm "in it to win it" in this kind of event, I need a triathlon bike, plain and simple. They don't make those in steel, so I might as well get a carbon one. For now, crossing that finish line was it's own reward. Saying that I rode 100 miles in August is it's own story. Subscribe for more posts and adventures from a Bicycle's Point of View.

The 2014 Collin Classic Bike Rally

69 miles on the Woodrup, beautiful country ride.

Picture of the author. Photograph by Sugar & Spice Photography

On Saturday I finally got to participate in an event I had been spending a good part of the week preparing and training for. I put a hundred miles on my Woodrup bicycle on the days leading up to the Collin Classic Bike Rally, an event in Mckinney, Texas that benefits a children's charity called City House. I signed up for what had originally been a 64 mile bike route, but due to construction on some rural roads, detours had to be made and the route ended up being almost 70 miles. My goal was to make it through the ride in one piece and survive all 69 miles. Not only did I complete the ride, but I averaged 17.1 miles an hour, my fastest average speed yet for a distance that long. I took advantage of four out of eight rest stops they had on the ride to refuel on water, bananas, oranges and electrolytes. 

I have to say this is the most organized bicycle event that I have been to. The route was well marked and wound through some scenic country roads which made the ride that much more enjoyable. There was police presence directing traffic at all times through the route intervals and turns. The weather was beautiful considering this is Texas and temperatures can get to oven hot levels. The day was overcast enough to bear the high 80 degrees in Fahrenheit. 

Along the ride I met a 62 year old Chilean cyclist that was as enthusiastic about his vintage Peugeot as I was about my Woodrup. We rode the last nine miles of the ride together, and at 62 years young, I had to ask him to slow down and wait up for me a little bit as I was starting to cramp up on my back and unbeknown to me, had a rear wheel that had come off true and was rubbing on the brake pad.  He is in truly remarkable fitness for his age. I only hope I can do the things this guy does when I get to be his as old as him. 

This is the first time that I do a ride like this. I'm already pumped up about doing this ride next year, weather and all unforeseen occurrences permitting. I wish there were more spring and early summer rides like this were I live. While most of the country enjoys the July to September months, it gets dangerously hot here during that time. I can't ride during the middle of the day in the summertime, only in the early mornings or the evenings. Otherwise I put myself at risk for heat strokes and UV ray exposure. Therefore this will probably be the last event I see myself doing for the rest of the year. I really enjoyed it and it was a true test of my fitness level. However it did not leave me feeling defeated like some competitive events I had done in the past. 

Stay tuned for more updates from A Bicycle's Point Of View.

Book Review- My take on Bike Snob NYC

Afterthoughts on my latest Read: Bike Snob NYC

When not building or restoring bicycles, riding bicycles or ranting about any bicycle related topics, or when my toddler keeps me from venturing into the outdoors and I'm stuck at home with a case of severe cabin fever,  sometimes I read. Although not an active reader (the last book I read from cover to cover for purely recreational reasons was six years ago) I sometimes will indulge in this very fleeting and occasional hobby.

So let's discuss my latest read Bike Snob by self acclaimed bike snob, Eben Weiss.  This book is a must have and should be on every dedicated cyclist's bookshelf. It's a book that cyclists and non-cyclists alike can enjoy and take something out of. 

This book starts out with a timeline narrative of the introduction of cycling and it's rise to fame in the late 19th century. Eben Weiss attempts to follow a bike route recommended  by a newspaper from that era, only to find that the picturesque landscapes and finely paved country roads have been replaced by the hustle and bustle of a modern New York City. Weiss points out that even though the landscape has changed that New York still holds the frame of what it once was.

Bike Snob invites us to look inside ourselves as cyclists and characterizes the different groups of cyclists out there and why they like or distrust one another. For example, according to Bike Snob's classifications I'm somewhere between a righteous cyclist and a retro-grouch. That is to say that I care about the environment enough to ride my bike and like mostly vintage bicycles. Not that I take any extreme sides; I'm also a cross between a roadie, mountain biker and a lone wolf. Triathletes are triple agents who clandestinely go in and out the cycling world and ride their bikes without socks, seldom trusted in the cycling community, as Weiss cleverly points out. 

Bike Snob also relates his views on the way cycling is marketed and perceived by non-cyclists. Weiss shows the folly of upgrading your commuter bike just to have it stolen later. He recounts his own experience with bike theft, having his Cannondale road bike stolen as a bike messenger. He pimp slaps all those who obsessive compulsively clean every detail of their precious bicycles while neglecting their ride time, or being too afraid to ride their bikes in harsh environments (Still, I'll take riding my bike in the winter time in NYC than a hot 105 degree afternoon in Texas).

I found this book very informational and a useful tool to explain to others why I'm such a bike-obsessed freak. Rather than rationalizing with others about my views on cycling, I can just pull out this book and let them borrow it for a week as reference material (provided they return it and not peel off the bumper stickers on the back page). 

Stay tuned for more book reviews as I follow up with The Enlightened Cyclist, the sequel of Bike Snob and other cycling books.

A Visit to Mellow Johnny's

 Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop

Austin, Texas

It's no secret that I am a big fan of Lance Armstrong. I had an opportunity to drop by his bike shop yesterday while passing through Austin. This bike shop is more than just a bike shop; it's a monument to cycling. In fact, it should probably be considered one of the seven cycling wonders of the world, if there was such a thing. 

Bike shop, museum, cafe and training center, what doesn't this bike shop have? Along the walls and ceilings of the shop you can see bikes that were used in the Tour De France as well as pictures of the man himself, Lance Armstrong. There are also many vintage wonders that will have you geeking out as you walk around this bike shop. Here's a couple of pictures I took while on my visit.

Lance is everywhere you look around this bike shop.

A new old-school creation. This style is starting to have a huge following.

A 1970's concept that featured wooden wheels. Crazy huh?

Something cool to send vintage bike collectors into sensory overload

 I saw bikes in this shop that I haven't even heard of yet. Some of the cool urban style utilitarian bikes that I saw were made by CVLN and Public Bicycles. They also had a broad selection of many high end bicycle manufacturers, such as Santa Cruz and of course, Trek.

In conclusion I believe every fan of cycling should make the pilgrimage out to Austin and pay a visit of Mellow Johnny's. My visit only consisted of a few minutes, but I will definitely have to come back to Austin and see what this city is about. On a Sunday afternoon I saw more cyclists on the roads in Austin than in any other bike friendly destination I have been to date. There is something about Austin that is really worth coming back to.Stay tuned as I explore more destinations for the bicycle enthusiast.

Introducing Johnny's Customs

Johnny's Customs- Introducing the Prototype

When I first started my "Transform your Klunker" column on my page, I did not know what direction I was going to go with it. It has given me the opportunity to explore making a few custom bicycles as well as restoring some bicycles to "like new" conditions. I finally have concluded that if I am going to continue doing this as a hobby and maybe as a future entrepreneurial venture I need to give this a name. So, henceforth, I am now Johnny's Customs.

The bicycle featured is a Mango cruiser that I recently wrote an article about.  I took this yard sale find and transformed it into something that you can only find in upscale bike shops in uptown. For those who live in uptown Dallas you know exactly what I am referring to. When I did research on some custom bicycle cruiser designs, I found that there were countless accessories to customize cruisers with. I had to order many of the parts put on this bike online because there is not a large enough demand for custom bicycle accessories where I live. I modeled this bike after cruisers you would typically see in California and Miami. Cruisers are coming back as a fashion statement in cycling. And although they may not offer much in the way of speed and utility, these bikes are fun and a joy to ride. Here's a few more shots of my first custom cruiser.

DART Orange Line- Irving, welcome to Mass Transit

It's finally here! The Orange line comes to Irving/ Las Colinas

Open for business on July 30.

This Rail Line marks where the Las Colinas Urban Center Station will open come Monday, July 30.

Finally, after three years of long anticipation, the Orange line will be open for business on Monday, July 30, connecting Irving and Las Colinas to the DART railway system. This could not come sooner for residents around the  Las Colinas business sector. There are many new attractions in Las Colinas that people will now have more accessibility to. There is also a bike centric atmosphere developing in this area. Las Colinas is home to the L.B Houston trail system, also known as Campion Trails, a on and off road trail system running between the subdivisions of Las Colinas and Valley Ranch. The Bike Shop in Las Colinas just opened it's doors a few years ago in downtown Las Colinas and provides top notch service with any bicycle repairs. Every Wednesday evening cyclists will get together in the La Villita subdivision for the weekly criterium race.

The DART rail station is the icing on the cake for many new changes that this area is undergoing to quickly become a magnet for bicycle friendliness and mixed use zoning development. It has also attracted many new job companies and potential employers, Research in Motion being their latest acquisition. Things are looking up for this architecturally wonderful area that only a few years ago had nothing going on in it.

Flashback to 2006. I was in my early 20s. At 11:30pm, I would lace on my Converse high tops and put on my rolling stones tee shirt. Tonight was free-running night, otherwise known as parkour night. Las Colinas was the sort of nightly ghost town you could do such a thing in. As I jumped staircases and bus stops, flying over trash cans I couldn't help noticing how beautiful this place was. It has canals, like Venice, even clever vines that wrap themselves along a faux-pas brick wall. A lonely set of lanterns lit up the cobble stone paths. The windows of businesses that no one ever shopped in still displayed 80's manikins with their teal jewelry and wide Sunday hats. There was a building that had one floor in it where there was always a party, you could tell by the changing lights coming out of the windows. Along it's skyline was an unused metro rail, suspended by bridges, even going through some of the buildings.  Las Colinas was eerie, in a very cool sort of way. To best describe what Las Colinas was, it was like being in a Duran Duran music video, a place that got stuck somewhere in the mid to late 80's, and hid itself from the world. It was the kind of place that left you wondering after you visited, was it real or did it only exist in my mind?

My favorite shot of Las Colinas at night. 2008 by Jonathan Guzman. All rights reserved

Anyway, back to 2012. Las Colinas continues to be a cool place, getting in cooler as time goes on. Although they no longer allow free-running (that's ok, I don't think I can do that anymore anyway) it now boasts gondola boatmen in it's canals and a hometown bike shop. Surrounding Las Colinas is the DFW airport, friendly roads and lots of places to ride. Check out more on what Las Colinas has to offer. Read my blog other blog posts about this area. Check out the bike information on the DART website with tips on how to use the DART to commute by bicycle. I look forward to this year's opening of the Orange Line, and the Blue line station in Rowlett come December.

Mountain Biking in Texas- Rowlett Creek Preserve

Rowlett Creek Preserve

Home of the Teeter Totter and the Whoop-tie Doos.

In the middle of a open field alongside the trail at Rowlett Creek Preserve

Nestled between the city limits of Garland and Rowlett, with easy access via the Tollway and soon the DART light rail system, is this awesome mountain bike trail known as Rowlett Creek Preserve. Technically, the trail is on the Garland side of the city limits, yet for some reason they don't want to call it "Garland Creek Preserve". I guess it wouldn't have the same ring to it. After all, the trail system here has been around since the mid or late 1990's, and by now everybody is comfortable with the name of the trail.

This trail system currently covers about 10 miles of trail with another 3 or 4 miles expected to be open by the end of this year. All the loops on the north side of the trail can be ridden in about an hour and 40 minutes or less. It's a great trail to ride during the week before or after work because it does not demand alot of time to complete.

Rowlett Creek is known for having shifty soil that is constantly changing. Since the trail is in a flood plain it requires constant maintenance to continue to be a functional trail. I wouldn't recommend riding this trail after a heavy rainstorm. Parts of the trail alongside the creek have been known to fall into the water and the trail can be flooded for weeks at a time if there is a wet winter. In the dry heat of the summertime the soil will crack and loosen off the ground making turning at highs speeds sketchy. The constant erosion of this trail has exposed many root beds which can make for a bumpy ride in some places. I have had more than my fair share of falls on this trail, probably more so than any other trail that I have ridden on. Yet I keep coming back for more. That's just me I guess.

Yeah, so anyway, if you just watched my blooper video you'll know what I'm talking about. North Texas isn't known for having large, predatory wildlife in this area. But watch out for snakes! This trail is home to the copperhead snake, a poisonous cousin of the rattlesnake. I have never seen one on the trail before, but everyone else who has ridden out there has. I dunno, I guess I must run over them and not even notice! As long as you stay on the designated trail and don't venture into the tall grass, these snakes will usually leave you alone.

If I haven't already scared you silly about riding at Rowlett Creek Preserve, here's a few more videos of what this trail has to offer. The trail does have alot of man made obstacles and challenging natural terrain. It is fun to ride, but falling usually involves bruising and open gashes, so I would recommend taking it easy if it's your first time on the trail.

In the next video you'll see a few neat drops as well as the first creek crossing.

This last video shows the Whooptie-doo section and has a couple of steep climbs and one crazy 4 foot drop.

This isn't be best, or the funnest, trail to ride in North Texas. If you live in Dallas, it is the closest and quickest option for mountain biking. It is still a fun trail, but I won't try to sell anybody on it. The trail is at it's best during the fall. In the summer there is not enough shade and in the winter it's probably below water. Take all these things into consideration if you're planning a trip out to Rowlett Creek Preserve. Stay tuned and subscribe to my posts to get more articles about mountain biking trails in North Texas.

Vintage Find- My Mango Single Speed

Vintage Find

Mango single speed cruiser

Picked up this baby for ten bucks at a yard sale- My first single speed cruiser.

Okay, since my last restoration, I've been riding the vintage cruiser bandwagon. I had never been attracted to these bikes until recently. I saw how cool cruisers were on my visit to Tybee Island in Georgia. I also saw how beautiful these machines looked and rode after a restoration. Once a mountain biker, and a road biker, and a snob of all things cruiser, my leanings have shifted in favor of this design. I'm not calling it practical by any means just yet. It's hard enough to get 3 inches off the ground doing a bunny hop on one of these. Also I would like to note that no hour speed records will be broken riding a cruiser. The selling point to me on having a cruiser is the fun, not the performance, that this bike can offer. I hadn't ridden anything that had a coaster brake on it since I was 11 or 12. This bike brought me right back to childhood and those days I wasn't allowed to ride outside my neighborhood. The simplicity of pedaling backwards to brake once again fascinates me. 

The Mango Parrot Logo

I found this bike at a yard sale a few days ago and bought it along with another rigid mountain bike that I will feature on this blog very soon. I bought both bikes for a total of 20 dollars. I noticed the inscription on the cruiser said "Mango" on it and I did a little research on the bike. I found out that this bike is designed in the Florida Keys and a brand new one costs about 350 dollars. This is no big box bike by any means. There are a few things which this bike is in dire need of, but nothing that is difficult to fix. In fact, it probably just needs new bearings and a new chain, and it will be ready to go. But, being into customizing bicycles, I have something different in mind all together. I can't say about the final design because it hasn't come to me yet, all I can say is that this cruiser will probably undergo a transformation of some sort.

There is a growing market for custom cruisers and manufacturers are making all sorts of cool accessories for these throwback bicycles. Compared to performance bikes like high end road and mountain bikes, the parts are inexpensive and the maintenance is minimal. One can now get tires in multiple color schemes as will as chains, handle bar grips, pedals and saddles. The sky is the limit on customizing cruisers. I like what custom cruiser designers like Villy's Customs have done to make their bikes in different colors. I also like the bikes that I have seen on Rat Rod Bikes. I can't decide. The point is, this is going to be a custom design, not a restoration.

Any suggestions? Leave a comment below the article.

Bunny hopping a manhole. I must have gotten, like, 3 inches of air that time!