AllYearGear.com

Month: December 2008

  • “I hope I don’t regret this”

    img_1787That’s the last thing  I said as I removed my Nokian Extreme front tire from my winter bike.  The Nokian has 294 steel carbide studs and hooks up on ice like nothing else.  But, on dry pavement, it’s a noisy drag.

    The road conditions were pretty decent, so I switched to a non-studded tire.

    Six tenths of a mile later I was layed out on the ground.    I hadn’t been looking ahead and found myself going fast on a 100 foot stretch of smooth ice.  The crash was inevitable.

    The bike was fine.  I ended up with a crab nebula bruise.

    A lifetime of cycling and still learning…

  • Lance Armstrong’s Girlfriend has a Buckle too

    Anna Hansen at LeadvilleYou’ve probably already read it in the tabloids: Lance Armstrong and his girlfriend Anna Hansen are expecting a baby.  Blah, blah, blah.

    What caught my attention is the photo of her biking (right) looks very familiar.  It’s from the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race in Colorado.  She’s just finished the Boulevard and is about to turn onto Sixth Avenue for the finishing stretch.

    And she finished just 9 minutes under 12 hour cutoff to earn a Leadville buckle.  That’s impressive, especially for an apparent first attempt.

  • Detroit Beers of the World Bike Tour

    img_1647This was an ideal hatched between Joe D. and I.  Joe suggested an end-of-the-year Detroit bar bike tour.  I suggested we visit ethnic bars and make the tagline, “Saluting Detroit’s Immigrants one beer at a time!”

    The ride was the day after Thanksgiving and started from Downtown Royal Oak.  We figured we’d start with a long leg before hitting a bar just to make sure we could pull it off.

    It was too long of a leg for some, so we made a quick stop at Honest John’s for a Stoh’s and some food.

    Next we swung by a local urban farm to visit the goats and roosters before hitting our second bar, Nancy Whiskey’s.  Yeah Irish!

    Back on the bikes, we rode by the half-gutted Tiger Stadium where I got a quick flat.

    Heading into Downtown, we made quick beer stops at Jacobies (Yeah Germans!) and Golden Fleece (Yeah Greeks!). It was at the Fleece where we picked up a Toronto bike tourist just in town to document the Detroit Critical Mass (and be disappointed.)

    Making the turn, we headed north to Hamtramck and the Polish Village Cafe.  (Yeah Poles!)

    We were running out of daylight but not motivation, so we made another stop at the Stonehouse Bar (Yeah Biker Gangs!) before heading back to Royal Oak.

    But the ride back to Royal Oak was quite eventful.  Ask me in person if you want to hear the rest of the story.

    Photos from the bike tour are on-line.

  • Another Detroit Alleycat this Sunday

    It’s called ALLEYCAT TACYELLA and the tag-line is “Just ‘cuz it’s cold doesn’t mean you can’t break the ice!”

    It begins this Sunday, December 21 at 7:00pm from Hart Plaza in Downtown Detroit.

    This event is being organized by the cool kids at the Hub of Detroit.  They’re also donating prizes along with Back Alley Bikes and the Cass Cafe.

    Afterwards is the Cass Collective monthly benefit.  This month’s beneficiary is Back Alley Bikes.  It starts at 8pm or after the race.

  • Penny Farthing Racing

    Singlespeed mountain bike racing was fun until the fast guys figured it out.  We need a new racing fad and this could be it.  Who’s in?

    I’d love to see some penny farthings on a car bike rack with a race number on the bike.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsanHNYZA0Q