Bike Bling
Finally a little bit of Dura Ace. A little bit of Ti to replace my sketchy 105 dérailleur
Bike Repair
no not mine, I shot feature of some kids working on some bikes. I really like some of these frames and now I am back looking for another standalone I shot a over a year ago of some differnt kids working on a bike. Yes the kids did the bikes rolling, but they have have gotten a little bit of help afterwards from the neighborhood roadie wielding a hex key set a set of tire levers and the oh so handy floor pump that lives in back of my car.
In the caption I added a note about the winner of that day’s stage in the Tour but the copy editors didn’t approve and nixed it. I even CQ’d Schumacher and Gerolsteiner
Bike Across Kansas: Part I
Well the BAK. It was quite the adventure.
I had planned my flights with a not much fudge factor, so when I got to Birmingham and I had trouble with the American Gate Agent checking my bike box and then my flight being delayed I started getting a touch antsy. Then I got a call from Mom asking me if I had heard anything about the storms. Apparently there was the “storm of the century” brewing in Kansas ready to spit millions of tornadoes directly into the path of incoming jetliners.
Well I managed to work out the car details where Dave and Brandy graciously picked up my car at the airport despite a sketchy key copy. That way I didn’t have to pay eleventy million dollars in car parking fees.
We landed late in Chicago and my 50-minute layover became a ten-minute one. Luckily I had on running shoes and had been practicing my speed-work so I did some Chicago Midway Intervals and made it in time to board. Alas the flight was delayed . . . for hours. (By the way do you ever feel like a jerk when you run through the airport and get to a flight then have to wait for five minutes to board- then all of those people you passed while running calmly walk up to the gate and board- I feel like one of those stupid stop light racers. I wonder if the walkers get that same smug sense of satisfaction)
After all of the drama I landed in KCI after midnight. We got home and I stayed up late chatting with the brothers then I had to reassemble the bike- a procedure on which I had only a tenuous grasp. I ended up staying up all night- taping my bars fiddling with my chain, cables, brifters, cogs and sprockets and pre-flighting every little detail.
I trudged into the kitchen bright and early and had an awesome breakfast of Blackberry pancakes. (My mom has been on a pancake kick- after some foodie columnist said it was the in thing (i love you mom- not complaining, just saying))
I then loaded my bike sans pedals onto a semi trailer got on the bus and met my uncle- and we drove what seemed like 12 hours to the magnificent western Kansas town of St. Francis- a mere seven miles from the Colorado Border to begin bicycling across the great state of Kansas.
I’ll pick up with more in a bit
BAK- Biking Across Kansas Photos
I’ll update this post with some words but wanted to throw some photos up to brighten your Monday. You can thank me later.
Bike Commute
Got to shoot this cool little story on this woman who rides eight blocks to work on a cool old retro bike. She was just trying to be health concious and try and use less gasoline for a relativley short trip. It even takes her about the same time to get to work by bike as it did by car.
Stay tuned I might be able to do something incredibly cool on Friday and put it in the paper/web. Here’s to hoping I’m able to ride to work and work via bike on National Bike to Work Day. Lets just hope I don’t have to cover a fire while dancing on LOOK pedal cleats.
Tuscaloosa Tri
While an awful video it is intersting to see the course from a local’s perspective and a newspaper person too. The bike course looks a bit tough-but for me i live for the hills and this will equal out some of the advantages the people with the aero bikes and helemets will have.
I am just worried about our swim leg. 64 sounds a tad brisk.
COGS-Marble City Metric Century
I will write an update soon. I just wanted to get the pictures up quickly.
Bike Link Hoover
The awesome guys at Bike Link in Hoover put the final tweaks on my new ride.
The fire engine red specialized allez comp x-large.
An awesome birthday present for myself if I do say so.
White saddle and White bar tape= Pro-ness
My Photo Stream
