Oh how happy am I that summer is here. Beautiful blue skies, flowers in bloom, warm breezes, tan lines…. And time to shed the long sleeved jerseys for something like this baby from Craft:

Of course now is the time for rain and lots of it. Making sure your breaks are on point is key!! Aside from that, you need the right gear to stay dry. I have looked around for some rainwear and there seems to be a trend for the standard yellow jackets and pants that remind me of the rainwear you wore at camp. However, this beauty from Pearl Izumi caught my eye:

So far this spring, start of summer, there seems to have been a lot of rainy days. And my saddle seems to channel rain straight down the crack of my….well, rather than give up my saddle, which I really like a lot, I’d like to get my hands on these from Showers Pass:

My saddle is a WTB saddle here:

Now do you see the reservoir going down the middle of the saddle? Now, this is supposed to distribute your weight on your butt evenly so you don’t go numb, but I swear when it rains, it just channels the water into my seat. This is a great saddle and like I said, I will not change it. I think this is geared more toward mountain biking and I’m sure that riding on the mountain in the rain is a no-no. However, since I have a cyclocross, it is weird when I look up components for my ride, as some are mountain, some road. I dig the mountain saddle….

Anyway, there will be much to do during the summer, as I have joined two cycling clubs, and there are many tours just dying for my involvement. Also this year I am going to be on the lookout for ways of getting out of the city (gasp!!) and find roads to ride for miles and miles into the sun… And I fully intend to be prepped with the best gear!!

Yes, kids, the stubborn one here finally made the switch to clipless pedals!! What ultimately prompted me to do it is the fact that the regular metal pedals had those spikey things on them that kept stabbing, knicking, tearing and outright cutting my legs. I couldn’t take it anymore. So down to my regular bike shop I went, Bay Ridge Bicycles. Those guys are awesome.

So I was very trepidatious about getting the clipless for the first time. I was worried about being attached to my bike during a fall and breaking my ankle or even worse, falling in front of a car and not being able to get away in time, still being attached to the bike. (As you can see I was terribly afraid). I have even seen plenty of folks falling down not being able to click out in time. I didn’t want to add another item on the list of things that can hurt me on my bike. However, getting cut on the leg everyday from those awful metal pedals changed all that.

I didn’t realise that there were the clipless that were a hybrid of sorts. The pedals I got (above) can be used with the shoes that lock in, or they can be used without. I figured that during the learning period I could just switch to regular shoes. Well the first day I fell. Twice. The first time I caught myself on a fence. The second time was a full on fall, in the street, foot all caught up in the front wheel. How embarrassing!! I even hit my elbow and got a speed knot that really hurts when you touch it. But I’d rather a speed knot on the elbow than a broken ankle any day. I got up, dusted myself off, with the help of my friend John, and was kind of shaken. For a moment, I considered putting my sneakers back on and just trying at it again another day. But I wouldn’t let myself. I clicked my feet back on those pedals, shaking, but I did it. I didn’t fall again the rest of the day. I almost fell again the next day, but got my foot out in time. I realise now that I still have to be rolling to get out. And what has really helped is the advice that one of the guys in the shop gave me. I have played it in my mind like a broken record. This is what he said:

“When you’re coming to or even think you’re coming to a stop, click out.”

His advice was great. I click out when coming to corners like twenty feet away or if I think something is going to keep me from being able to move on, I click out about ten feet away and I have my foot out in time. The problem I keep having is forgetting that I’m clicked in sometimes and I stop on a dime and think I can just put my foot down. When I do that, I make myself roll some more and click out. Man, it’s an experience I can tell you. It’s almost like learning how to ride all over again!!

Now what I also get out of this is the power I get from using the clipless. I get more out of the rotation and man I swear even the dreaded uphills are not as bad!! I feel I have more control… Why oh why did I wait so long to go clipless?? I used to use the stirrups when I raced. I forgot how much power you get when attached to the pedal. But then when I stopped, I just went with the laceless and didn’t think any more about it. How stupid, especially now with my penchance for demoning through traffic, I need the control. I almost see now why fixed gear is so popular with the messengers.

The shoes I got are from a company called Lake. Check out the website. The shoes I got are these:

They are so comfortable!! And they are very sneakery, so you can ride and then also walk around without wearing the stiff, clicky road shoes (which now that I think about it is another reason I didn’t want to go clipless). They also have a really cool reflector on the back. Because of shoes like these, I feel much more comfortable with the switch. They are utility and fashion in one (girly coming back out…). I am really glad I got them!!

So I went out for a bit to a friends house party on Saturday, much to the chagrin of my sickened body, but I am the ever vigilant socialite and must abide to an invitation by a friend. So off I went, riding pretty smoothly actually because I had been bedridden for a while, and I get to the gorgeous duplex apartment and, wheeling my bike in hoping to keep it off of the street, wow!! Here is a parade of old school bikes, belonging to the folks that live in the apartment. So like a dork, I whip out my camera and investigate.

The first bike that caught my attention is this one:

A John Deere?!?! Like the tractor dudes? I mean, is that for real? And I am genuinely asking because I really don’t know. I didn’t know that John Deere made bicycles. I can tell you that this bike was old because when I lifted the frame it felt like I was bench pressing a weight in the gym. Yikes. I can’t even imagine trying to get up a hill riding this bike, but I sure as hell would surpass the speed of sound if you put me on a downhill on it!! Here is the far-out shot:

Pretty cool for tooling around the neighborhood, grabbing scant groceries and some cat food no? I am a sucker for the front basket on a bike. It always makes me want to get out, pedal to the nearest Italian shop and buy some vine ripened tomatoes, fresh baked Italian bread and a brick of fresh spun mozzarella, and some flowers. Yeah, I girl out like that sometimes.

Next in line was this one:

Peugeot. Classic. Funny how being a more contemporary biker, I don’t come across bikes like these anymore and it is more reminiscent of my childhood than being a kitschy throwback for the uber-cool. I think it’s awesome that people ride classic bikes like they ride classic cars. It’s all about being in the know. Anyway, looking at the handlebars, I kind of squirm, as I have never liked the brake cords hanging out like this:

I am more of a streamline kind of gal.

But in speaking about these classic bikes, I have a a treat of sorts. I came across this site in my ongoing research to find all bike knowledge that I can. It is called Bicycle Classics and they have products to keep up your classic ride!! They seem to have a pretty good collection of parts and they seem to be as geeked out about bikes as I am!! Major plus in my book. Check it out. The site itself is very basic, they do not have any pictures of the parts, but it seems to me to visit this site, you really have to know your stuff, and perhaps this site is geared to bike geeks as well. It’s well worth checking out if you are serious about wanting to upkeep a classic bike.

I came across this site called Crank Brothers and nearly fell off my chair when I beheld this beauteous sight. This is their Cobalt XC wheelset, aluminum, stainless steel spokes, disc brake only, tubeless compatible, and in my favorite color, blue.

And being the bike-head that I am, I love tools. I can’t get enough of the Swiss Army style tools that cycling repair has to offer. I dig the fact that you can carry an array of tools on you in one little space in your bag and whip it out when you or a fellow cyclists need to fix a ride. So imagine the squeal that came out of me when I beheld this:

This too is on the Crank Brothers site. There are nineteen tools on this baby….nineteen!! Dude, I could sit for hours and play with this thing. And it comes with a “flask” to keep it in!! Oh my god, oh my god!! I need this to add to my collection of other fold-away tools, to keep in my bag and admire like Smiegel held on to the Ring of Power…

“Precious!!”

For those of you who ride track or fixed gear rides (GRRRRRRRRR…..) I have some info for you too!! I found this page on the web on a site called oldskooltrack.com.

I tooled around a bit, and found it to be pretty interesting, despite the fact that I don’t like track riders just as being a snowboarder, I don’t like skiiers. I know, it’s stupid–we’re all out there to do the same thing and have fun, but human nature dictates we draw lines in the sand. I’m on the free-wheel side. You want to cut a line into the free-wheel side and I jump right into the cyclocross group.

But anyway, this site got me jazzed because, after all, riders are riders and we all love the rush no matter what the ride. And in fact, I had this crazy dream this morning before I woke up about riding a track bike around the city!! They obviously have some kind of subliminal messaging on the page….

Soon to follow are my thoughts on track bikes in the city.

Read the links and have fun!!

I don’t need diamonds, I don’t like pearls, flowers die on you and men come and go…..

Cyclocross is FOREVER.

Take that DeBeers.

Here I will post for you some information I have come across regarding eyewear for riding. Good stuff, very informative. I have gotten all of this info from the Village Cycle Center catalogue (link in sidebar). Read on…

Road Cycling Lenses tend to be darker than ones for mountain biking and generally use a red tint to filter out blue light and glare.

Off Road Lenses need an orange or amber tint also for filtering blue light that causes glare. Orange or amber tints increase contrast on the trail that pop out obstacles a little more than if you were not wearing glasses at all.

Road and Trail Lenses call for brown tints which improve depth perception and also reduce glare. They are good for variable conditions and the dark tint reduces eyestrain.

Grey or Smoke Tints keep colors in their most natural, unfiltered state, also reducing eyestrain.

Low Light Conditions, like cloudy days, yellow, red or orange tints are the way to go. They help protect the eyes and also create contrast.

Clear Lenses don’t provide contrast but are good for keeping wind, bugs, dust and other outside factors away from eyes.

So now that it is springtime again, I guess I have to get some new gear. I’d like another new tech-top, I already have the gloves I need (Pearl Izumi), I have shorts and a cycling tank. But I think I’d like to get a new jersey. Nothing with any logos on it. I’d really like to get the Brooklyn jersey, but it is so played out now. I have to find something else that I will like for the season and beyond. Oh yes, I even have a jacket for spring, complete with the three pockets on the back. I don’t really ever put anything in the pickets though because I ride with a backpack all the time. I have a Camelback that I’ve had for the past few years and it’s cool in that it it small enough to sit on the back comfortably (without the water pack) but still can hold all the crap I seem to lug around all the time. I just recently bought a new bag, called Hard Wear and I really like it. The biggest selling point of it for me was the fact that it has a compartment to hold my laptop. And it doesn’t feel like I have this lumbering bag on my back either. I am very picky about that actually. Years ago I had another great backpack by Black Diamond, which is mostly for hiking and mountain climbing, but hey, sports are sports. Kelty is also a great company for backpacks. I have a huge Kelty pack for when I travel–you know, the mountain backpack. Anyway, the Hard Wear also has a sweet compartment that is fleece lined and super soft to hold sunglasses. Word!! Also has lots of other compartments to organize all my crap. And I really do carry around a lot of crap when I ride. My friends make fun of me and say that if it all went down today, I’d be prepared for the apocalypse. And they are right.

I have been considering getting toe clips too lately, but the jury is not back on that one. I have a real fear of being strapped to my bike to the point of not being able to free my feet in time to catch myself when falling. I wear strapless stirrups now and have not freed a foot and fell on that side….embarrassingly. However, I think that the tendinitis I developed last year in my Achilles tendon came from not situating my foot properly on the pedal, and I felt my other one starting to give out as well. That’s when I thought that maybe the toe clips would keep me from ruining my Achilles tendons. The shoes are pretty cool, but the mechanics of the clip kind of elude me. I don’t know, maybe I’m just picky about my first choice stirrups. The ones I have are plastic and they just go right over the toe with no straps. At one point I fell and broke the right pedal and rode a few days with just the left stirrup and thought that I may stick with just the one stirrup, as I am right handed and always drop the right foot when I come to a stop. But then I changed my mid and fixed the pedal and I am back on two stirrups.

I am going to start doing my research and find the best of the best in terms of usability for the toe clips and report right back here what I find.

This weekend I am hoping against all hope that it is really nice out. I feel like taking a ride, taking some pictures to post and meeting some of the fellow road bikers.

Oh joy-SPRING!!