... the Friday madness (rarely seen!)

It was a dark and dreary day at the tour today as the riders ascended to the 1183m high summit of the Col du Platzerwasel near the German border this morning... Of course, this doesn't mean that the fans were any less thick or annoying than on other famed climbs.


I have to say, however, that I'm getting a tad bored with the tour so far. Now that the flat stages are largely over, Cavendish has few opportunities to drop creative new victory salutes and it has fallen to the big-shots of pro cycling to create some action.

But the "cycling elite" (as the announcers like to call Lance, Alberto, Fabian, et al.) aren't doing much of anything. Today they let a breakaway go clear of the field before the first climb and never got around to reeling them in. Lance didn't push the tempo, Nocentini (maillot jaune) didn't try anything risky, and Contador just wasn't as aggressive and assholey as he usually is.

The guy who ended up winning the stage today was also visibly upset by the lack of action from the peloton:


Actually, In case you can't tell, I was only kidding with the previous statement. This is Heinrich Haussler and he rode magnificently today. Haussler obliterated the breakaway group almost thirty km out from the finish and stayed away, increasing his lead with every pedal stroke.

I can't blame the man for being overcome with emotion like this, the Tour de France is decidedly the most prestigious race in the world, and to win a stage in it is a coveted and elusive goal for nearly every competitive cyclist.

That said, I'd cry too.

Spending so much time recently scoping out the absolute cream of the sport of cycling, I find it neccessary to also probe its dark underbelly. Take this seemingly innocuous craigslist post for instance:


As I've underlined, and visibly questioned with a BADA55 'colorway', this ad is rife with inconsistency and beguiling language. Perhaps the poster is simply a once-in-a-while rider (or god forbid, a salmon) and knows very little about cycling nomenclature.

First of all, I think most bicycles are unisex these days, especially since the days of women's modesty have gone and rendered the double-drop bar frame an antiquated convention that is today more stylistic than functional.

Secondly, The poster may be interested to note that velodromes do not allow the use of multiple gear ratios or brakes, as is evidenced in the growing urban fixie fetishism. Therefore, "21 speed" and "track bike" are mutually exclusive terms and to put the two together in a strange portmanteaux is an oxymoron, moron.

Thirdly, though not lastly, I've never seen, heard of, or even dreamed about 700cm tires (i'm not going to even get into the "track tire" faux pas). I believe they mean 700c tires which roughly means tires that are 622mm in circumference. A wheel 7 meters in circumference must be a real track machine indeed, especially considering the UCI's limit on gain-per-pedalstroke is barely over 7 meters to begin with, though I suppose that could give creedence to the handlebar motto I blogged about recently.

Then again, perhaps cycling is in fact moving toward larger and larger wheel sizes as evidenced by Bike Snob's recent sighting.

Lastly, I hope the above post intended to say carbon fiber fork, instead of fiberglass fork because fiberglass has a famously poor track record when it comes to resisting the dynamic forces of impact.

Anyway, steer clear of the rediculosity this weekend and ride safe!

P.S. Look forward to epic pics and coverage of my slog up to the roadie-verse on Monday!

...Sejr for Danmark!

Today was a great day for Danes everywhere as former danish national road racing champion (twice, once in 2003 and again in 2008), Nicki Sørensen, destroyed the breakaway with an attack at just over 5km to the finish of stage 12. Though this is the first Tour de France stage victory for Sørensen, he is no stranger to the podium as evidenced by his growing list of wins. Here he is celebrating as he crossed the line more than thirty seconds ahead of the breakaway and six and a half minutes clear of the peloton:


Of course, I can't rob you of the requisite podium shot:


This excellent cycling by Sørensen has moved him from 39th place to 26th place in the GC standings!

In other tour news, today versus' filler shots were not opulent chateaus as they were yesterday but instead they focused on the hay bale art along the route that farmers (I assume) put
together to commemorate the race passing by. Most are fairly standard fare, bicycles being the most popular subject matter:


Though I do tip my hat to some other crafty individuals who weren't content with using only bales of hay to show their enthusiasm. This one was crafted with not only hay, but matching threshers and a clever implementation of colored bale bags:


Well, At least there were enough of these that they could show us a different one each time.

No major crashes on my radar today, so stay tuned next week when I'll be sure to have found some stomach-churning gore (your'e fairly warned) for the next KIRT post. Hopefully by that point we'll also have a better idea of who will emerge as the overall winner in the tour, and will finally be able to get some sleep and stop worrying about Lance's time deficit.

...LBSR and new toys!

This past Sunday a few friends and I took a delightful little jaunt down to Coney Island. Except for one flat, it was a nice, uneventful ride with an easy pace that ended with hot dogs at Nathan's (for in-depth coverage of our gastronomical excursions, be sure to hit up that moohare). As I mentioned yesterday, several of the people we rode with had just bought bicycles that day, though one person rented a bike from a nearby bike shop that I had no idea existed.

We understandably had a tough time getting it back to the shop before their closing time of 6:30pm, so I opted to just return it in the morning since I learned it was along my usual route to work. Walking the two bikes, one in each hand, I decided to snap a quick photo of the rented bike for posterity:


As you can tell from the relaxed position of the bike, and the lazy dandelions I included in the 'composition', it is built for comfort, not speed. This is by no means an attack on comfort bikes or those who ride/rent/sell them, its just not my style. I prefer to stay light and quick as such are the demands of city riding.

What struck me about this bike the most was its weight. I don't know exactly how much my bike weighs, but I think its somewhere just under the 20lb mark. This bike seemed to be two, if not three times heavier. Seriously, I have to hand it to the girl for riding this 20 miles on Sunday, she's a champ.

I got there and handed over the behemoth without incident and continued on to work, surprised I had never before known about this shop:

Ride Brooklyn


Yesterday I decided I was sick of my shitty stock brakes and set out to find a new pair of calipers. After finding Bicycle Habitat out of stock (unfortunately an all too common situation for them in the summertime), I tried this store out. Having taken note of the ubiquitous 'Brooklyn' cycling caps displayed in multiple 'colorways' in their window, I knew this was a well stocked shop indeed.


Pete and Jessica, the owners (or so I was led to believe), were extremely helpful and sold me not only a new set of calipers, but a wireless cateye cyclo-computer as well.


Considering Brooklyn Bike & Board boasts awesome mechanics but lacks the scale of other LBS's inventories, I doubt the two stores will step on each others toes too much, despite their being less than two full blocks away from one another. I will definitely continue to patronize both stores given their respective fortes.

Speaking of forte, Today's Stage 11 of the Tour de France ended with yet another victory for the 'dish. He snatched the victory from Thor Hushovd after the latter initiated the final sprint. In doing so, Cavendish has tied the record for number of stages won by a briton in the tour (8).


And of course this means he's back in the green.


There's not much to look forward to from Lance & Co. until this weekend, but perhaps the 'dish will keep us entertained until the race gets to the Alps and Versus can stop glazing over the post-race interviews with shots of the many chateauxs the race passes.

I'm always interested to see the aerial shots of little french villages and castles, but versus uses them as a crutch, which bothers me. I screen-capped the above shot because it was about the thousandth time they showed that same damn building.

I can hear the helicopter radio conversation now,

"Super-five-five, this is ground control do you copy? over."
"Copy that ground control, this is super-five-five, everyone's over the line... Any word from the network? over."
"Nothing yet super-five-five maintain a holding pattern over something pretty and shoot that until something happens on the ground. over."
"Copy that ground control, We've got a stately home with manicured lawns in our sights, good enough? over."
"Good to go super five-five, the winner has a british accent so network says no interviews allowed. over."
"Roger that ground control, we'll keep shooting this building 'til word comes down. over."

...Bastille Day!

Being one of the most important french national holidays, Bastille day is a time for enjoying all things french; baguettes, red red wine, croissants, and cycling! Of course, this holiday coincides with a flat stage of the tour through the middle of the country past yellow fields of grain and quaint pastoral cottages. Needless to say, everyone in France has the day off and takes the opportunity to come out and cheer on the riders who are racing toward the start of the Alps and the decisive stages of the tour. Watching the stage stream online, we could catch glimpses of the french revelry. First there were people waving plants...


Then we saw people waving sheets from horseback...


And then there were two soon-to-be-escargots just getting their fill of the sporting occasion, waving nothing at all....


Funny thing is, this snapshot was taken directly before the breakaway passed them, and the commentators expressed hope that they would not try to venture out onto the road lest they become unusable as escargots later in the day. Then, as the main field of riders passed that spot, they showed the snails again, just chilling, watching the race go by.

I'm not sure if these fellas ever got served up in some fancy french dish, though I hope if they do, they're served up for the 'dish, winner of today's stage (and two others so far this race).


According to the race announcers, Cavendish has had a 90% win rate on sprint finish races and stages this season. Allow me to put that another way: If Mark Cavendish is in a sprint to the line with any number of other riders, he essentially has a 90% chance he'll beat them to the line. That's the epitome speed if I do say so myself (a little British-ism to commemorate).

And I do....

In addition to bringing you critical reviews of local bike lanes with the semi-regular BLRI posts, I feel the need to relay my experiences with local bike shops that I frequent. Starting close to home, Today's LBSR (local bike shop review) will be about a new face in Prospect Heights:

Brooklyn Bike and Board


BByB Just opened up a little while ago on Vanderbilt Ave. btw Bergen and Dean Sts. While more of a repair shop than anything, they run a good business and everyone I've met working there has been super cool and helpful... Even on weekends in the summer, which is saying a lot. Every time I've gone there with annoying little problems (like a creaking crank), Chip the mechanic torques everything down or straightens everything up and then refuses to take my money.

I can only guess that this is because they make enough money off all the junky mountain bikes and dutch bikes being brought in for complete overhauls that its no big deal to throw my road bike on the stand and wrench everything down real quick. Seriously, I've been to that bike shop numerous times and never been charged except when I bought prody. maybe I should bake them a cake or something...

They also sell new and refurbished single-speed bikes, fixed gear bikes, and geared cargo bikes, which are becoming much more commonplace around yuppieville. Two of my friends recently bought bikes from them, one of which being the Torker U-District bike that I can safely say is a great deal for the paltry $400 or so that they cost.

Anywho, Give 'em a try next time you're in the area, I promise you won't be disappointed.

...420 miles to nowhere

Today is the first official "rest day" at the Tour de France (not to be confused with an unofficial rest day) Of course, not one to plan/think ahead, I raced to the computer at 8:30 am this morning to catch the beginning of stage nine, only to be confronted with lots of in-depth analysis and colorful descriptions of that stage which is to be raced tomorrow.


Since the riders of the tour are on break, I'm taking one too. Actually that's a lie; today I've been working on cool new post ideas that'll drop sometime tomorrow.... around lunchtime, I hope.

With that, I leave you with this article about the culmination of the DOT's construction of 200+ miles of new bike lanes in the city. Strangely, (as you'll soon find out) the new miles of bike lanes bring NYC's "street bike lanes" total to a laughable 420 miles. On second thought, perhaps this, like the conspiracy of weather reporting, belies ulterior motives.