Back in wireless land!

Down from the mountains and into the land of wireless, which is sort of like clipless in that it isn’t really a “less” thing. I was wireless in the mountains, too, for the most part.
Reading James Salter’s Solo Faces for Velosophie. Alas for my selfish soul it is as so many of what we’ve read, as it says on the back, “…novel about the ways men test themselves and the reasons they do it.”
You know what? I really don’t care that much why men test themselves. I’ve read the first four chapters and they are utterly hormonal. Man moves into shed. Woman takes him in, they chat and become lovers. He decides to go back to climbing. So far it’s extremely John Wayne – terse manly quips with hidden meanings that really aren’t hidden.
Somehow the whole cycling and philosophy mix (“velosophie”) consistently boils down to Men Testing THemselves. Granted there’s a 3:1 ratio in the mix but I’d have thought *talking* about The Testing Process broke the rules.

quotable comment

From the comments on a post about “critical mass” in Madrid:Where I live, they have a critical mass for cars. Every day at 4 pm, motorists congregate for hours at particular places on the road network, stopping traffic. They call it “traffic jam” and use it to pressure politicians to improve conditions for the hapless motorists. Ambulances and fire trucks have been known to get caught in the “traffic jam”, but the clever motorists claim this only underlines the need for more asphalt.

And they have been very successful. The newspapers buy into the message and write about expanding motorways for cars. They even have whole sections of the newspaper encouraging people to buy fast new cars.

The “traffic jams” are not entirely without conflict however. Some people write letters to the editor, saying that the motorists must have better things to do than to sit in stationary traffic every day. They point to the tram and subway networks which almost always keep moving, right through the “traffic jam”. Other, more libertarian types say that they use their bicycles and never encounter any serious congestion. But they are usually laughed off.

Got another quarter…

Went down Hanover Road (after cruising hte other residential streets) and then found “Race St.” which led to the Patapsco Park bike route.  It had poured there, but not on me   Took a few extra times up and down the hills in this little subdivision to get 25 miles.  Both here & Richmond are very much not the grid stuff talked up by the CHampaign planners (who said cul-de-sacs were Uncool because a grid meant traiffic was more distributed and it was easier for snowplows & emergency vehicles to get around). Here are the higher grades of hills that I sort of expected in Virginia (’cause they said there were hills).  I did granny gear a couple of times.

Right now it is just foggy enough for me not to want to get out there, ’specially ’cause I don’t have that Hi-Viz jacket. And I need to figure out a way to get hte bike in the very back of the car ’cause I’ll be toting two passengers.  Quick release is a good thing

Enjoyed Joel Gillespie’s article about a local “high-tech hobo” which somhow got me framed in an Art Mart page, so I clicked through to its home page… to find that, consistent with other aspects of  Lincoln Square, it’s “down for maintenance.” The commentary on www.deadmalls.com is dated.\ (2005).. one of htese days I might go down and make an update.

The social ride ;)

I went on the morning ride and when I talked with the ride leader he seemed bothered by not having a map to give me … ’til one of the Tuesday morning guys informed him that he need not worry. ROde out with them, then back wiht Bud Vye and the slower group (who weren’t that slow – averaged about 15).  Guy told me to keep the gloves (I’d worried that I’d lagged when they took off… he said “this is the social ride.”)

What a classy bunch.  Hope visitors like me don’t get too tedious.

Wiser Riders

I tried to ride on two Richmond Area Bicycle Association rides today. BORING log to follow :

First one:  “B+” level, which is 16-18, you might get dropped.  At noon, so I emailed the leader to ask “retirees or strapping college students?”  and was told “older group that likes to work hard” and that they usually waited at stop signs (which is to say, the group might not stay totally together, but they’d keep track.)

I arrived.  Leader had the floor pump I said I didn’t, which I used and promptly stuffed in *my* (rental) car out of habit… fortunatley somebody asked.  Five guys, all *very* chiseled, two litespeeds and the other bikes fast road bikes.  (Good scenery )  Me in my toe clips on a hybrid, albeit an aluminum one wiht fast wheels and tyres.

NOBODY SAID A SINGLE THING    that registered fear that I would not be able to keep up.  Asked if I used gloves and I was lent some.  (Granted, I worked *hard* to pump up the tires and slather sunscreen confidently, and I’d said in email I was shooting for 3000 miles for the year, and that I could do the posted pace and generally finished at the same speed I started.)

Front rider took off, I right behind him since if you  might not go fast enough, you don’t start behind, eh?  Turns out he was faster than the rest of ‘em… so I dropped back I  have not done a paceline ride yet with anybody, so I wasn’t really in tune… but I did my share of pulling (especially when it got windy).

12 miles out I thought, “40 mile ride… *maybe* a food stop… but I’m thirsty and this gatorade bottle is NOT a sippy cup kind, and if I’m the leader I want to know…”  so I call out “Slowing to drink.”

The next stop sign happened to be quarter mile up and true to form, they stopped… and rested and said reassuring things about how soon the store stop would be.  I realized as we started up again that I had my usual red face that only means I’m working and it’s warm, but is totally sustainable.  I’m pretty sure I was blathering a bit but I think I communicated that I was doing fine and really enjoying the ride in between blathers.

We cruised back… one of the guys missed a turn but then managed to catch us… we rested at another stop sign when he did.  One of the guys announced the future turns several turns ahead through most of the ride, which is simply considerate even though it didn’t turn out to be necessary.

Nobody said “you should go on the THursday ride where there’s a B level,” or “you cannot catch up to a group if you are riding alone” as if you didn’t know what drafting was… I don’t mind that stuff at all because it is done to be *helpful* and those nice guys at the evening ride I tried to go on later don’t know that I don’t need to hear it, ’cause… well, ’cause the fast guy at the evening ride gave me cursory, bad directions (“go right until you catch up … you will be able to keep up with them” – and right was Rt. 301, thank you, which I *knew* they wouldn’t stay on, but he couldn’t be bothered to name the roads where to turn) .

It is very pleasant when people wait ’til they’ve seen you ride and yes, it’s a great boost to the ego when, once they’ve seen you ride, they skip that stuff

Tomorrow if its’ not raining I’ll ride with the “retirees” ride that *is* a B/C ride.  Ride leader remembers me … and it’ll be fun.

Virginia

Visiting kinfolks in Richmond, where I first joined a bike club.  Just enough time to sneak out and cruise the subdivision… now it’s off to the mountains up the 5-mile dirt road so my brother can fix the leaky toilet in the cabins where the wedding is. (“If you have a GPS, neither Rapidan Camp nor the unpaved road to get there are in it.  Rapidan is beyond the reach of cellphones, and has no zip code. Most cars can navigate the 5-mile dirt road up the mountain. We are planning to run a shuttle from either the nearest town (Criglersville) or (if the National Park will permit us) from Big Meadows along Skyline Drive. We’ll let you know the details, but if you have an SUV, Subaru, or other high ground-clearance vehicle, it should be able to make the trek.  Think twice before taking a Volkswagen car to camp.  If you rent a car, choose it wisely.”  — this is not exaggeration   Thankfully my rental should work… but if not, there’s this bike in the back…

“The bridal party will be dressed formally—tuxes and tea-length dresses (with full-length dress for the bride). We recommend afternoon formal, but not exceptionally fragile, dress. Anyone in jeans or shorts will be redirected to the nearby Bluegrass Festival. No spiky stiletto heels.”

“SHow and Go” for Habitat

So, I hear through the ether, from out here in MaryLand, that folks are going to do a “show and go” fundraiser for Habitat (not sure how they’re going to work where the money goes)… so your weather goddess is trying to work from long distance to make it a nice day.  Go on out and let’s show folks that we ride!!

Top Searches

People who found my blog were looking for:

Top Searches

bike toe clips,  smooth surface,  conservation for couch potato,  bicycle billboards,  blowing one nostril at a time

Hmmm… I think I like what I’m associated with

Time to pack…

Good Press

http://www.wicd15.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wicd_vid_904.shtml from channel 15

http://www.newsgazette.com/news/local/2009/05/21/cyclists_honor_fallen_promote_safety_in_ride_of_silence

VENT!!! Tour de Builds is CANCELED.

Okay, no vent here, because that’s a bad idea.  Suffice it to say I don’t understand “BIG TIME FUNDRAISING” people.

addendum

(sounds so much more edified than “oh, and…”)

I don’t think our numbers were small because people accept the dangers of cars adn feel helpless, or are apathetic; I think they were small because locally, it really is fundamentally a non-hostile environment for cyclists.  (Yes, I’m terminally optimistic.  Perhaps Pollyanna should have been my confirmation name?)