News and opinion from your bike guys

A Fan You May not Always Recognize…

It’s Tour de France time. Naturally you would expect nearly every riding enthusiast who stops by a bike shop during the race to share who their favorite rider is, or to ask a question about tactics or equipment.

Increasingly though, we meet up people who are not the classic riding enthusiast but have become a fan of the Tour de France. They may casually ride a bike. They may not ride a bike at all, but they love the 3 week long French production which is the Tour de France. It has become a ritual for them and they love it as much as a cyclist who rides 150 miles or more each week. And their conversations are interesting. They’ll share a story like having been stationed in France with the US Army, or marveling over the lush French countryside, or mimicking Brit Phil Liggett’s unique stylings of the days’ events. For many it is their ‘Arm Chair’ vacation!

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So, So Talented; Fionn Regan…

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13833092

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Mocanaqua
In 1778, a young Frances Slocum was kidnapped by Delaware Indians from her home near Forty Fort. Raised with the customs and language of the Delaware, Slocum was renamed “Mocanaqua,” meaning “little bear,” and later married a chief of the Miami tribe. For 59 years her brothers searched for her, only to find her in 1837. By that time she was so accustomed to the Indian way of life she found her brothers’ way of life odd.

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Nothing New Just Tried and True…

Here are the Directions for This Week’s SMR…

The Saturday Morning Ride is headed south this week. Join us as both courses wind their way down the W. Kirmar Parkway to Vandermark St.
The shorter ride will continue through Newport, and into Nanticoke. We’ll cross the river, head north on Rt.11, and return to the city.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/430129424

Shorter Ride; 26.37 miles

The longer option will continue down lower Middle Rd. through Glen Lyon, Glen Lea, Mocanaqua, cross river @ Shickshinny, and return to city on Rt. 11

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/954538117819

Long Ride; 38.18 miles

17th Juillet, LAVELANET, France (AP) - Saunier-Duval team withdraws from Tour de France after Riccardo Ricco tests positive for EPO.

Who Made the Grade? Cobra’s strike on Super-Besse…
Italy’s Riccardo Ricco (nicknamed Cobra) made good on his Pre-Tour promise of a stage win on Thursday as the TdF (Tour de France) wound its’ way through the Massif Centrale to a mountain top finish at Super-Besse.
The stage was very spirited as teams attempt to control the front while individual riders try to slip-off to gain time and glory for themselves.
A couple of things have stood out thus far in this year’s edition of the TdF…

• The rivalry among the French-based teams is fierce this year. Sylvain Chavenel and Thomas Voekeler in particular have pushed the KOM (King of the Mountains) point’s competition and apply a certain pressure, (team sponsors television exposure) to other rival French squads.

• The beautiful countryside of Brittany. Brittany is the home of Tour de France king, Bernard Hinault who I am sure had a hand in selecting this year’s route that passes through the small villages and hamlets between the Seine and Loire rivers.

• Kim Kirchen may be a new Grand Tour threat. Team Columbia’s Kirchen has had a good season and his star is rising. We’ll see what happens when the race gets to the more major climbing stages

• All things American. Team Garmin-Slipstream, Team Columbia-High Road, Christian Vandevelde, George Hincapie, Bob Roll, Felt Bikes, and Cannondale bikes show that the Americans remain in the mix of today’s peloton. How about a stage win team America?
• Lots of spills in the feed zone and other. That should calm down heading into next week.

Stay tuned in for more. The Tour de France never dissappoints.

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Here are the directions for this week’s Week SMR…

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/287607126608

OK, we’re headed back to a route everyone seemed to enjoy last year. The group will first head over the Carey Ave Bridge, through Plymouth, to Rt 29. We’ll turn off Rt. 29 @ Chase Rd. to Chase Corners, across Dallas, then finally down 8th Street heading back to the city.

Distance will be a little more than 35 miles. 7:30 start time.

Sorry about not posting today. I know some of you look forward to the rant.

Nice ride up along Coxton today. A small group split and continued their ride on some beutiful roads to add extra mileage.

Speaking of Coxton, did you know?…

• Charles Lindbergh made an emergency landing at the Coxton Rail Yards in 1928.

• Legend also has it that a man named Campbell escaped capture and torture from Native Indians by leaping off the ledge to his death. We ride past past Campbell’s Ledge on our Coxton loop. Campbell’s Ledge is near the confluence of the Lackawanna and Susquehanna rivers.

Hypocrite; that’s me!..
SMR Tip #4; Come to ride.
“Prepare the night before and get your pre-ride ritual established so that when you arrive you are set to have an enjoyable ride”-this author.

I was a victim of my own list of rules to ride by last weekend. A Raleigh 3-speed refurb. that I had been slacking off on was now scheduled to be put on a moving truck that Monday. Time was running out. I had done the companion bike to this one and the owner requested a similar type of restoration.

At 7:25am I put down the tools being used on the English Racer (a misused term that actually refers to a Raleigh type 3-speed, not a 10-speed) and turned my attention to dressing and the daily maintenance that I normally do to my own bike before each ride.

Notice the time is now 7:25am. How’s this dude going to get his HUD together to leave with the SMR ride group in five minutes? I scrambled to find but one arm warmer, (kind of like the missing sock in the washing machine) that my bottles were dry as a bone, and would later find out that I was running on 50 psi this day.

You may not know this but the bike perfectionist rages inside of me when tire labels are mounted carelessly, or when bike computer wire runs are not coiled just so, or when air pressure is not topped off before a ride. (I feel better after having shared that with you-). Those established rituals began long ago when I was just a kid riding, racing, and just learning about this hobby that we all share.

So this week I promise to arrive early and come “Ready to Ride!”-tj

Banshee Ride this Weekend…

The traditional Banshee Ride is back! Join the group this Sunday, June 29th as this ride heads up the Mid-Valley, regrouping at Forest City, and then continues onto Stillwater Dam with a turnaround, then down the World famous “Simpson Stretch” and back to the city of Scranton.
Hope you can make it-

Banshee Ride
Sunday, June 29th, @ 10:00am
Banshee Irish Pub & Restaurant
322 Penn Avenue Scranton

Here are the directions for this week’s SMR…

7:30am start time!

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/989468648319

Note: This is the ride that had an incorrect road listed last time we tried this route. It has been corrected. We’ll try this again. Some of the familiar hills; Oberdorfer, ‘Nail’, Green Rd., etc. (There will be some options, shorter, more flat). 31.01 miles.

Let’s see, in the past month man opens bike shop, man falls head over heels in love (again) with an Almost Famous blonde, (again) and according to a reliable source plans to spend this summer in a swank California coastal community.

The new bike shop owner is Lance Armstrong, who opened Mellow Johnny (Lance’s twang term for the Maillot Juane, the Tour Day France’s yellow leader’s jersey) last month in Austin, TX.

Goldie Hawn’s daughter Kate Hudson is the new blonde in Lance’s life. The pair have been spotted lately in public. Will a Trek Madone be in Kate’s future?

The swank California community where Lance is rumored to be spending this summer is Santa Barbara California. -source; James Bond of Cycling

Add to that…

Do you feel that some of the press Lance recieves in his personal life trivializes his accomplishments in cycling and the war on cancer with the Livestrong Foundation? Read more in this recent NY Times article…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/fashion/22lance.html?ex=1214884800&en=f83785219a75f506&ei=5070&emc=eta1

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Saw Them, Thought You Might Like Them!…

That was the Sim Redmond Duo, composed of Sim Redmond and Jen Middaugh, who opened for friend and spring’s ‘Bike Social’ musician Charles Havira, last week at River Street Jazz Cafe. Great harmonies!…

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=75737795

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Here are the directions for this week’s SMR…(special request from the peanut gallery)…

The Saturday Morning Ride is headed south this week. Join us as both courses wind their way down the W. Kirmar Parkway to Vandermark St.
The shorter ride will continue through Newport, and into Nanticoke. We’ll cross the river, head north on Rt.11, and return to the city.

Shorter Ride; 26.37 miles

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/430129424

The longer option will continue down lower Middle Rd. through Glen Lyon, Glen Lea, Mocanaqua, cross river @ Shickshinny, and return to city on Rt. 11
Long Ride; 38.18 miles

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/954538117819

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Team High Road to be ‘One Tough Mother’s’ in This Year’s Tour…

Team High Road announced this week that it has signed a 3 year sponsorship deal with Columbia Sportwear of Portland, Oregon. Team Columbia as they will be known, will make their inaugural appearance July 3rd at the Tour De France. The deal includes sponsorship of both men’s and woman’s teams.

Imagine the fun that a marketer could have, (as they have using Columbia’s Chairman ‘One Tough Mother’ Gert Boyle in past ad campaigns) with the cycling team? Tough as nails sprinter Mark Cavendish would get my vote as a poster boy for a joint ad campaign!-tj

Add to that…

Team Slipstream just signed on GARMIN and Saab as corporate sponsors. Riis Racing will also be hoisting new corporate sponsorship with the introduction of Saxo Bank.

Are the dark days of Pro Cycling starting to pass? Interestingly, Team High Road, Slipstream, and Riis Racing have been at the forefront of the new athlete doping controls and testing. Seems like a change may be coming-tj

Did you happen to catch the photographs of Barack Obama riding with wife Michelle and their children this past week?
Last night (June 12th), an impromptu fundraiser was held at the home of a bicycle industry executive attended by suppliers, advocates, cycling personalities, and some retailers.
According to Stan Day of SRAM (Grip Shift, Rock Shox, Avid, Truvativ, Zipp, and their own SRAM-branded components) who organized the evening, a fundraiser had been proposed by Day to the Obama campaign committee several months ago. The Obama camp contacted Day last week to see if he could organize the meeting on less than one week’s notice. The Obama’s were taking in some down-time at home in Illinois. SRAM’s corporate headquarters are based in Chicago.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee pledged support for increased funding of cycling and pedestrian projects, and that he would also endorse the Safe Routes to School programs.***

I found a supposed earlier biking pose of Obama. Going by his age, (46) his wheels appear to be period correct!

SMR Stage 10: (06/14/2008);Blue Bikes for US Soon?

This week the Saturday Morning Ride will incorporate two loops. First, we’ll do the usual by riding up along the river to West Pittston, over the Ft. Jenkins Bridge, turn onto Parsonage, left at Stevenson, another left onto Rt.11. The longer ride will be making a right off Rt.11 and continue to ride toward Coxton, then wind our way back to the city.

Here are the directions for this week’s SMR…

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/764755545481

Length of ride approx. 37.52 miles. Shorter and longer options too.

Two Cool for You to Consider…
Let me tell you about two separate artists who are well, just cool. I’ve been listening to some form of music from Brit Paul Weller and Canadian Daniel Lanois for years. I’m kind of like a patron to their musical experimentation and always look forward to the next destination to which the sound will take me to.

I first started listening to Weller when he was the frontman for The Jam, a power pop trio that symbolised the English Mod movement. Mod music was sort of a bridge from late 70’s Punk spilling into 80’s New Wave. Paul abruptly ended the Jam to develop an entirely different smooth sound with The Style Council. He continues today as a solo performer. 22 Dreams, his latest album dropped this week.

I’ve included a link to a reissue of one of hist best works, 1993’s Wild Wood…
http://216.69.135.140/MP3Players/Weller/WildWood/Wimpy.html

Daniel Lanois, (Lan-wa) is best known for his successful association with U2 as one of the producers of The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, and others.
Lanois’ own music is ambient, sparse, complex, full. His latest, here is what is, is presented as a collection of sound and dialog. I’ve included Daniel’s Cool Water live recording of The Maker from 1993 here, http://redfloorrecords.com/CoolWater.htm

Two things about the totally hip Weller and Lanois. Both are revered in their own countries yet relatively unknown in the ‘States and rarely perform.

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“Smart, intrepid, unreadable-”
CNN senior political analyst Candy Crowley on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton

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SMR Stage 9: (06/07/2008); We’ll Take You to Higher Ground…
7:30 AM Start time!

OK, for those who have been wondering, the wait is over. This week we hit the hills. We’ll cover the West-side, then give Oberdorfer a shot, the legendary NAIL and then have some options from there before returning to the city.

Here are the directions for this week’s SMR…
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/plains/474700220172

New York • Toronto • Minneapolis • LA • SF • Chicago • Boston • Tokyo • Austin • London • Vienna • Zurich • Paris • Sydney • Melbourne • Milano • Portland

During the last week of May, the annual Bike Film Festival launched the first run of its 2008 world tour in New York City. This year the Festival travels to 17 major cities around the world including Tokyo, London, San Francisco and Paris. A celebration of all things bicycle and the culture that surrounds bike riding, there is something for everyone regardless whether you are a Critical Mass urban messenger type, serious road racer, micro-brew drinking mountain biker, tourist with panniers and box of maps, or an anti car person reducing your carbon foot print by getting bread and milk in a homemade basket you rigged up on the back of your bike. As a result, the film festival is more than just a chance to be entertained by films centered around the bike. It’s a chance to hang out (which we know is one of the things cyclist do best) discuss big ideas, look at art, drink at cutting edge bars, tool around in the streets of cool cities and be a hipster for a day.
I stumbled upon the festival on the internet a couple of years ago (probably at one of my jobs where I couldn’t leave my desk and was forced to seek out adventures vicariously through the web like some futuristic human devoid of contact with the real world, but that’s for another blog). Impressed by the whole idea, I added attending the bike film fest on my life list (This one seemed slightly more achievable than winning the Pulitzer prize for poetry) And since I am currently shooting a mountain bike documentary which I would like to enter in the 2009 festival, I figured this would be a good year to check it out.
Since flying to Tokyo seemed out of my price range at the moment, I found myself on Saturday, May 31 on a 10:30 a.m. Martz bus heading to the Anthology Film Archives an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video with a particular focus on American independent and avant-garde cinema and its precursors found in classic European, Soviet and Japanese film n New York City where the festival was occurring. I had a ticket for the the 5:00 p.m. screening which involved several shorts and a main feature called What Bobby Saw, a documentary on a legally blind mountain biker. (I guess I really don’t have any excuses for not riding)
I figured I should check out the street festival that runs from 1:00-7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. is the main screening and an after party at Love, a club on MacDougal Street with apparently the best sound system in the city. But as much as I would love to hang out in New York City till the week hours of Sunday morning, I have to catch a 9:00 p.m. bus.
The street was blocked of in front of the Anthology Film Archives, an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video. at 32 2nd Ave. which is across from the famous New York Marble Cemetery where many famous citizens are buried. People have stacked their bikes along its wrought iron fence. The whole street is like a giant installation piece. There are the usual type vendors and bike advocates scattered around touting there wares along with a DJ blasting tunes. As one could guess, there are bikes everywhere, and a variety of people to match. It is a cross section of old, young black white, yuppie and hippie, although the crowd definitely is labeled more of an off beat crowd. Lots of tattoos: from the a girl natural type with the honey blonde hair and Chinese symbols tattooed on her back to a guy whose whole right arm is decked out with blood red roses and thorns. There are guys wearing t-shirts that say things like, Tour de drugs juxtaposed next to people in racing jerseys and cycling caps. All kinds of bags, beat up colorful shoes, dyed hair and dreadlocks. And of course a variety of bikes parade around the streets. A few guys try to out do each other with tricks and turns. There is even a bicycle beauty contest with men and women a like parading their bike and themselves around in a circle before three judges.
At 5:00 p.m. I left the party in the street and ducked in to see the feature. There were few opening shorts which range from a story about a guy who makes whiskey and rides a fixed gear mountain bike to a tongue-in-cheek horror piece about a monster in the woods. The films aren’t necessarily exceptional works of art, but there is an intoxicating feeling of seeing them together and having a diverse group of bicycle stories one after the other. The main feature, The Way Bobby Sees was gripping as you watched a man with severe visual impairment (he can only see outlines of shapes and light) and two replaced kidneys race in the Downieville Classic, an incredibly tough course with drop offs, cliffs and rocky terrain. This was an inspirational nail biter.
The 7:00 p.m. show was sold out and as I left the Anthology Film Archives a crowd wound down the stairs and out around the block. There were people from all over the world attending this event and I was happy to have experienced a small part. It made me stop for a moment and be grateful that I am able to be part of a world wide cycling movement.

If the bicycle represents anything it is freedom. The freedom to move, to express and to be. Perhaps some might argue a car offers greater mobility, but as we all know a car can become a prison. It robs us of our freedom as we spend more hours sitting and commuting. It removes us from the landscape. It detaches us from our bodies as we find ourselves driving three blocks to the store. Cars may be necessary but they are not necessarily a choice. The bicycle on the other hand offers us another way of being. It is transportation, it is recreation, it is a return to our inner child, and it is bucking the system and creating alternative ways to live. In essence it is a lifestyle to be celebrated.

For more information check out: www.bicyclefilmfestival.org. Contact this writer poetic_stage@yahoo.com.
-M

The Time is Now 10 o’clock. Do You Know Where Your Bicycle is?

Kryptonite, who pioneered better bike security with its U-lock, has compiled a list of the worst US cities for bicycle theft. Leading this list according to Kryptonite is Philadelphia.

1. Philadelphia, PA
2. Chicago, IL
3. New York City, NY
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Tucson, AZ (tie)
Portland, OR (tie)
7. Denver, CO
8. New Haven, CT
9. Cambridge, MA
10. Austin, TX

“When we did the compilation, there wasn’t even a city close to Philly,” stated Donna Tocci, Kryptonite’s marketing manager,“Not even close.”

According to Tocci Kryptonite compiles the information from various sources. In addition to police statistics, the company uses information from college campuses, visits to bike shops, and data from their own customer service department.

Looking 20 Years Back; Hampsten Sleighs the Gavia…
The 1980’s were the coming of age for American cycling. Greg Lemond, impressive victories at the 1984 Summer Olympics in LA, and the American-based 7-Eleven team brought US cycling respect that it had lacked from the Europeans.

On June 5th 1988, 7-Eleven’s Andy Hampsten pulled off a stunning ride on Stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia to what many consider the toughest day in the history of the Grand Tours. Hampsten rode onto the narrow dirt covered mountain passes of the Dolomites and then left his nearest competitors on a treacherous snow-covered descent into the tiny Italian village of Santa Caterina.

Hampsten credits the preparation of his team manager, (7-11 had purchased ski wear that morning to keep their cyclists warm) and the hard work of his fellow riders for the eventual win.

His victory of the Giro d’Italia is considered one the finest achievements in US cycling history.
Today, Andy is a much sought out speaker on his recollections of that most memorable day in 1988.

SMR Stage 8: 05/31/2008; 7:30AM Start Time this Week!…
Note; Rain cancels ride!

This week the Saturday Morning Ride will incorporate two loops. First, we’ll do the usual by riding up along the river to West Pittston, over the Ft. Jenkins Bridge, turn onto Parsonage, left at Stevenson, another left onto Rt.11. The longer ride will be making a right off Rt.11 and continue to ride toward Coxton, then wind our way back to the city.

Here are the directions for this week’s SMR…
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/wilkes-barre/764755545481
Length of ride approx. 37.52 miles. Shorter and longer options too.