The trees may yet win

The cyclocross national championships in Austin Texas were just postponed and nearly cancelled due to.... mud.  A cyclocross race without mud is like a surfing contest without waves or a pool tournament without pool cues.  If one is resourceful and determined it can still happen but its just not the same.  One might think that USAC would have had that conversation with Austin Parks department, or maybe just not held the national championships in an unproven location.  I'm pretty sure this would not have happened in Bend Oregon or Steilacoom Washington.

Although USAC has demonstrated their incompetence yet again, it was unfair of the Austin Parks department to suddenly cancel the event.  It happened due to pressure from local citizens and tree advocates.  I can see where they are coming from.  I have seen massive grass carnage, public outcry, and loss of the venue to cyclocross use as a result.  That park in west Seattle and the one and only infamous Beverly Park race come to mind.  As bad as it was- that grass grew back.  Have you ever known grass to not grow back?  Now think of Woodland Park.  Aside from Nationals and a couple of OBRA races, it has to be the largest race in the US in terms of participation.  It takes place in a heavily used public park right smack in the middle of Seattle.  There was some concern among the locals, but it has been mitigated by clear communication and a little clean up work on behalf of the (non USAC) promoter.  The grass still grows here, and the trees have not died.

Dont get me wrong.  I am not a tree expert, but I am a certified tree hugger.  I don't want trees damaged from cyclocross.  Its just that being born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, this is what I see:

Sometimes the trees win. In my experience and learning so far, mature trees are damaged by storms, fire, or being cut down.  A mature trees surface roots are quite resilient.  In fact, not even pavement is a match for the slow but persistent and mighty tree root.  I ride over pavement and trails that are buckled from tree roots every day.  Every day I read about environmental travesties of one form or another and it saddens me.  But those tree roots I bump over every day bring me joy, because they remind me that pavement is not forever.  I have seen one good flood erase miles of road.  I have seen neglected trails in the Gifford Pinchot get completely reclaimed by nature in a season or too.  I visited this tree when I was a kid:

It was alive way before any white man lived in the U.S.  Then some white guy decided it was a good idea to carve a hole big enough to drive car through it.  It is still alive and well, and will be a lot longer than you or me.  Not that I approve of carving holes in trees to drive through them.  It probably is something that most Texans would enjoy.

I applaud the tree advocates in Austin, standing up for their trees.  But I think there are bigger threats to trees than bicycle tires.  It must be a bitch living in Austin if you are truly a tree hugger like I am.  I implore the Austin Parks department to book their next continuing education meeting up here.  I can direct you to record setting specimens of western red cedar, douglas fir, spruce, hemlock, and of course the almighty redwood.  

anatomy of a useful cyclocross bike

After 8 years of racing cyclocross, I decided it was time to add a new cyclocross bike to the stable.  My generic aluminum bike has served me well, but I made a deal with myself:  if I could make it into the Cat 1/2 race I could justify a new bike and the old one could be converted to a singlespeed backup mud bike.  I am not able to buy new bikes very often, so I was interested in the idea of this bike being able to be useful beyond cyclocross.  As in, be able to build a high performance bike with fenders, lights, and a front rack and bag for long adventure rides.  
It was a leap of faith having never ridden a bike with low trail geometry before, but I ordered a 700c Boulder brevet.  Mike Kone was really helpful with ordering the bike.  He provided a detailed diagram of the geometry of the bike to be, including seat height, reach, and drop.  Its nice to not have any surprises there when you already know what size bike works for you.  Happy to say, nearing the end of my second season on this bike, that it was a complete success.  I love this bike!  A lot of people have expressed admiration of this bike, but surprise that I would use it for cyclocross.  I'll line out where this bike differs from a typical cyclocross bike, and how that shakes out:
1.  Low trail geometry.  Most cyclocross bikes have about the same geometry as a road racing bike designed for 23mm tires:  72 or 73 degree head tube, and the near-universal 45mm of fork offset.  The Boulder has a 73 degree head tube but 60mm of offset.  How does it ride?  At speed and on pavement it feels a little different but still plenty stable.  I have never once felt that I exceeded the speed limit of the bike. Where it really shines is at lower speeds on tight technical terrain- the realm of cyclocross.  This bike simply handles better on off camber, tricky terrain due to less wheel flop than my old bike with the typical geometry.  I believe cyclocross bikes are better off with more fork offset than 45mm.  Unfortunately, 50mm offset is the most you can find with typical carbon cross forks.
2.  Its steel, and the fork is steel!  Steel gets a bad rap for racing bikes because most steel bikes are built with thick, overly stiff tubing, that doesn't result in a zippy ride.  The Boulder is made with relatively light, thin wall tubing.  It is zippy!  Weight is less important but my 57cm bike weighs 19 pounds, without any goofy carbon parts.  A carbon bike will weigh less, but a water bottle or so less.  I have ridden full carbon bikes, and they have a great ride quality, but I would not say the bike is obviously faster than the Boulder.  Of course you have to factor in tires but more on that later.  And the steel fork.  A properly designed steel fork with a flat crown and curve near the dropouts (as opposed to the current fad of straight legs, to look like carbon forks) has better mud clearance and will actually soak up bumps.  A light steel fork is not much heavier than a carbon fork with an alloy steerer, and has a much better ride quality.  A full carbon fork is admittedly much lighter but I'm not willing to trust them.  They break unexpectedly.  I ride at high speeds on rough terrain, and like to use my stuff for a long time.  And finally, a steel fork can be made with the right geometry to match the frame.  Carbon forks are one-size-fits-all.
3.  Low bottom bracket.  Most cyclocross bikes have a higher bottom bracket.  Its  a trade off here.  I think the bike with a lower bottom bracket handles a bit better, but you strike the pedals on things a little easier.  Overall I prefer the lower bottom bracket.
4.  Cable routing.  Most cyclocross bikes have cables routed along the top tube to stay out of the way for shouldering the bike and keep mud away from the cables a little better.  The Boulder has more traditional cable routing along the down tube.  The rear brake cable on the bottom of the top tube does dig in to your shoulder a little bit when carrying the bike.  Its a  mild annoyance.  The cable routing along the down tube is more direct.  Even though  the cables get dirtier, they still shift better than cables on the top tube.  I replace cables and housing less often on the Boulder than I did with my old bike with top tube cable routing.
5.  Mike practically insisted on the needle bearing Miche headset.  Low trail bikes can be prone to shimmy.  A bike that shimmied would be unacceptable to me, so I went for it.  My Boulder does not shimmy.  The Miche headset gets fouled rather easily in cyclocross conditions.  Its not really a big deal, would be even less of a problem if the bike had fenders mounted as intended.  Still, there is something to be said for a King headset that you install and never, ever have to touch again.
6.  And of course the beauty of the Boulder is that you can easily add alloy fenders, a front rack, and generator lighting and have a first class randoneeur bike.  I have not done any organized rando type stuff to date, but I do love to go on long, unsupported, all-road rides.  I'm itching to build the Boulder up as intended but right now it is too good of a cyclocross bike.  I need two of them!

There you have it.   One more note about performance and value for cyclocross.  As I said, I have ridden full carbon and titanium bikes that were a little lighter than my steel bike, but still not  better performing.  The one place I splurge is on tires.  I have been riding FMB super mud tubulars on Chris King hubs/Velocity alloy tubular rims.  Those tires make all the difference!  The traction and low rolling resistance of cotton tubulars at 22 psi is very, very real.  You don't need carbon Zipps!  You just need the tires that are usually glued to those Zipps.

My transportation dilemma.

As a veterinarian I am becoming a wealthy, wealthy man so I've decided to upgrade my daily transportation from the Bianchi Volpe I bought used 10 years ago for 400 bucks.  I thought about a sweet custom bike or even leasing a Honda, but I settled on a Bentley instead.  Because I want to roll in style.  It is totally affordable as long as my plan to win the lottery in the next 5 years comes to fruition.  My wife divorced me because she thinks I am an idiot with money.  Now I'm in a little bit of trouble because I may have overestimated my vast wealth by a smidgeon.  I'm having a hard time with the alimony on top of the mortgage and everything else.  I haven't even thought about selling the Bentley.  I might ask my parents for a loan to cover the car payments.

Does this scenario sound at all like a city with a 5 billion dollar drill stuck in the ground, asking for voters to approve a tax increase so that bus service isn't cut?

Does it sound at all like a country that can't take care of its citizens because its too busy writing blank checks to to companies that turn around and hand it to their CEO, or the military which in turn hands it to civilian contractors?

See you later.  I'm the not-so-wealthy veterinarian on the Bianchi.  I am happy and damn lucky to have a beautiful family and own a home.  But I'm disappointed with some of the decisions of our elected leaders.

Retrofitting a bike for metal fenders

The sliding bracket on my SKS fenders that always comes loose once again broke.  So rather than replace them I looked into having some eyelets added to the seatstay and chainstay of my old Bianchi Volpe, perpendicular to the tire.   It turns out that Garth at  haulincolin.com can do this quickly and for a very reasonable charge.

I had them add an eyelet to the Surly front rack and place a star nut in the fork steerer for the front fender too.  I went with stainless Berthoud fenders.  Somewhat heavier than alloy fenders but less expensive and this is already a heavy bike (the Surly front rack with its hardware weighs more than some racing frames out there).  The fenders went on easily, look really nice, and keep water off the feet a lot better than the SKS fenders due to not having a bracket on the underside of the fender and a rolled edge.  And being attached directly to eyelets, they should not loosen or break like SKS fenders tend to.

This is an easy and worthwhile project if you have a frame that you like and that has seatstay and chainstay bridges, just not with the right holes.... 

below zero cyclocross

This past weekend in Bend Oregon marks one of the most memorable weekends of cyclocross I have done.  It snowed about half a foot on friday, then a deep freeze set in.  This wasn't unpleasant cold- it was 3 degrees, not accounting for wind chill.  It was make-smart-clothing-choices-or-get-frostbite- kind of cold.  It was Bend canceling the annual holiday parade kind of cold.  But this is cyclocross and you don't cancel races because it is cold.  Surprisingly the course was quite rideable and it was fun racing.  My new Boulder worked flawlessly.  There were sections of the course which were frozen off camber ruts that really tested bike handling skills.  The following video demonstrates the problem:  if you hesitate even for a second and hit the brakes- you fall down.  If you commit to the fall line and let the bike roll you stay upright!

Riding on snow and ice is easier than it appears.  On the rare occasion there is snow and ice in Seattle, I still commute to work on a bicycle.  In fact I make even more of a point to ride on those days because I know the traffic will be horrible.  Cars generally drive a lot slower when there is snow and ice on the ground so it is not any more dangerous to be out on a bicycle.  Use a wider tire at low pressure, don't lean the bike over or brake when turning.
Watching the elite riders this weekend, you wouldn't even think there was snow or ice on the ground.  Geoff Kabush took the hole shot Saturday and built an impressive lead.  I guess that is natural as he is a Canadian.  Only Tim Johnson was able to overtake him.  In the last half of the race, when all the other competitors looked more or less miserable, Tim Johnson had a big grin on his face.  My beer froze while I was watching this race.
On Sunday I had the pleasure of being lapped by Carl Decker (front row start today) and fake Miguel Indurain (where did Kabush find that Banesto kit?!).  I love OBRA.

Horner and the Vuelta

Was really happy to see Horner finally win a grand tour - especially when he was the oldest guy out there.  There are a lot of people saying that something isn't right about his win though.  The problem is, there is no way for anybody except Horner and his coach to know that right now.  The suspicious points:
1) He's old and he has never managed to win a grand tour before, so why now?  Well, he is old, but some older athletes are able to hang on to their endurance really well, if not speed and power.  And a grand tour is all about endurance.  He was forced to sit out the tour de france due to a knee injury, so it makes sense that he was able to specifically peak for the Vuelta when the other contenders were killing themselves at the tour de france and the Giro.  As far as never winning a grand tour before:  he has  ridden as a domestique for his entire career.  And one thing I haven't heard anyone pointing out is that Horner is usually good for a top-15 in the tour de france, despite riding as a domestique.  And more than once he has finished better on the GC than the team leader. Another thing- the Vuelta, being a bit short on the time trials but heavier on the big steep climbs, suits him well.  He certainly lost time in this Vuelta in the time trials but made it up in the mountains.
2)  His defense of Armstrong is weird.  That sort of does make you wonder if he is still in the mindset of doping is OK if you don't get caught.  I've always wondered if Horner was clean during the apex of the EPO years.  Who knows.  I've often wondered how Horner would have fared as a team captain in a clean peloton all those years.
3) The missed drug test on the last day.  On the surface it looks bad but it does seem like he followed the proper procedures and the tester messed up and went looking at the wrong place.  

I have always been a fan of Horner because he is a northwest native, always seems to have a great attitude- as evidenced by things like trying to give interviews in Spanish and giving his competitors a ride on his bike to the finish (Cascade Classic) -and occasionally races cyclocross to boot.  

gardening pro tips for cyclists

I'm inspired to write this after spending too much time mowing the lawn when I should have been riding.
Dont fight moss.  Its green, right?  A perfectly manicured lawn is for golfers.  Clover looks okay after you mow it, and the bees really like it.  Same can be said for a lot of other weeds.  If dandelions were unknown and a botanist suddenly discovered them in a remote area, people would go apeshit over them.  They are edible.  If your neighbors complain, tell them they are not weeds, they are salad greens.  If you must wage war on dandelions, just ask your kids to make a bouquet out of them.  That will sort of slow them down.
Use native plants when possible.  Flowering currant is one of my favorites.  Birds and beneficial insects like them, they fit in nicely, and you don't have to waste time watering them or nursing them to health because they are native and like to live here.  Sword ferns:  my wife thinks they are ugly.  I disagree, and besides, what else are you going to grow on that north facing slope that is wet and dark 9 months of the year?
Ivy is evil and only rats enjoy it.  Its probably worth it to yank it and plant something nice in its place.
That about covers it.  Now get out and ride, its spring!

Paris Roubaix

I was excited to see Spartacus, Vanmarcke, and former cyclocross superstar Zdenek Stybar in a break with less than 20 km to go.  Then heartbroken to see Stybar clip a spectator, nearly crash, and lose contact with the break.  10 seconds might as well be 10 minutes when faced with regaining contact with Cancellara inside of 20 km to go in Paris-Roubaix.  On the crappy live internet feed I could see Stybar get suddenly knocked clear over to the other side of the path, collide with another spectator, but amazingly stay upright.   Those are cyclocross bike handling skills for sure. Lars Boom was in the mix earlier in the race too.  It would be fun to see some cyclocrossers win a spring classic and follow the path of the legendary Roger De Vlaeminck.

The tunnel

I found this article rather interesting.  Could it have been that maybe McSchwinn was right about the big tunnel?  Remember that in the upcoming mayoral election please.  Our original toll forecast, from the people ramming this project down our throats, has now been downgraded more than 50 percent.  This is going to cost someone a lot of money.  Probably me, come to think of it.  Remind me again how much of the bicycle master plan is unfunded at this point?  Why is it that traffic forecasts concerning auto use are always this optimistic?  And why is it always the opposite concerning bicycles?

World Cyclocross Championships- the aftermath

The main impression I have after watching these races is how much it looked like a World Cup on TV.  Which is impressive- USA cycling, the city of Louisville, and everyone else involved pulled off a coup to produce a race of this caliber.  No easy task given the weather conditions and having to make the painful decision to reschedule the races at the last minute in order to not have the whole event cancelled due to flooding.  The course, the crowds, the number and quality of racers- all looked like a world championship or World Cup race in Europe.  The only difference was hearing Richard Fries call the race in a language I can understand.
Another similarity to a European World Cup was, unfortunately, the lack of Americans at the front of the race.  The exception being Katie Compton's silver medal and Logan Owen's gutsy ride to being about 40 meters short of a bronze.  I don't think there was any catching little van der Poel but a small mechanical cost him a podium spot.  He was quickly reeling everyone in but van der Poel at the end of the race.  Page probably had the form for a good result, if not a podium, but suffered numerous mechanical problems.

 It was demonstrative to see a train of orange and blue at the front, just like in Europe.  And demonstrative to see Nys and Vantornout start flying like deranged poltergeists around the course in the last couple of laps when everyone else was starting to show signs of fatigue.  

cyclocross world championships

in Louisville this weekend!  This is a big deal:  the first time a world championship cyclocross race has been held in the U.S., and the first time that the top Euro talent such as Niels Albert and Sven Nys will be racing here.
This will be the best chance ever for U.S. riders to earn a rainbow jersey, as we have the home turf advantage for once.  And not only U.S. riders- local riders!
I really like Logan Owen's chances for a win.  Right now there are only a couple of Belgians that can beat him in his age group.  This is the kid that I try not to get lapped by in local races.  I used to beat him when he was 15 and racing as a Cat 3....

Zach McDonald, another local, recently decided to race the National Championships as an elite and not U23- and still took third place.  His form is perfect right now and he is a contender in the U23 race.

With the very best from Europe here, an American world cyclocross champion is a bit of a long shot- but the chances are better now than they were when Page got his silver medal.  Jeremy Powers will get a second row start I think- if there is a dry course and Powers has a great race, he could win.

Can't wait to see how this unfolds!

Don't give a shit about Lance Armstrong

What do you do you if you have a dark heavy secret that you have kept buried for so long?  Of course, you go tell Oprah (for a lot of money I'm sure)
I honestly don't care  about Lance- he is not the first and won't be the last professional athlete to cheat and then lie about it.  The bigger problem is that his national and international governing body helped him do it.  If Lance really did care about the sport, about the only thing he could do at this point is say: " I could only get away with this because the UCI and USA Cycling helped me."  Then we could get rid of the people in charge of those organizations and we  might see some real change in the sport.  Right now if I want a racing license I have to mail a check to USA Cycling or the UCI if I want to race in Canada.  Steve Johnson and Hein Verbruggen are still in charge and acting like nothing is wrong.  If the governing body of the sport is cheating, and everyone knows it, how can anyone ever take bicycle racing seriously?  Lance has not only screwed over his past competitors- he is screwing the next generation too because right now nobody is interested in sponsoring a bicycle racing team.  Can't say I'm surprised.
To those that say "Lance Armstrong still won those 7 tours because all his competitors doped too..." In a way they are right- I don't care about what place Basso would up with either.  What I do care about is that there was probably some poor Colombian kid that would have beaten Lance on a level playing field.  Any legitimate competition needs rules.  At this point its looking like a rigged game with the UCI in charge.  If some people are allowed to dope and others aren't, you might as well retroactively move the finish line.  Now bicycle racing is about as legit as WWF wrestling.
Screw it.  Unless there is change where it counts- I'll be riding in a wool jersey in any event that doesn't require a license from USA cycling or the UCI.

Sandy Hook

I've been ruminating on this.  I have a daughter in kindergarten; its hard not to.  Then I saw in the paper this morning that NRA's answer is "a good guy with a gun" in every school.  I liked McSchwinn's response the best:  "they have shown that they are clearly out of ideas.  Its time to stop listening to them".

"A good guy with a gun" is a good analogy, I think, for the way people view roads.   There are a lot of people that feel that in order to be safe, you have to be inside a larger chunk of steel than the next guy.  In a way, they are right.  But that is not a game that I want to play and not a world I want to live in.  Its true that I might get run over by a car, but it would be certain  that I'm fat and unhappy and suffer a coronary event with the alternative. Why not design roads and vehicles in a way that looks out for the safety of everybody?  I don't want a doofus with a gun in my daughters school for that added false sense of safety, and I don't want to have to rely on a two ton machine just to get to work or the grocery store in one piece.

By the way, do you know what was state of the art with respect to guns when the Second Amendment was written?  Powder and loose balls.  A rifle wouldn't be invented for 100 years.  How many kindergartners do you think would have died if that kid had to stop and reload after every shot?

Done with USA cycling

I've been disappointed with the governing body of bicycle racing here in the US for a while but this article at Velo News is pure gold.  So here is my first resolution of 2013:  I am not purchasing a racing license from USA cycling until there are some big changes and maybe Steve Johnson is gone.  I am conflicted about this  a little because I feel that at the local level, people have been putting on excellent races and series under the auspices of USA cycling- such as the Seattle Cyclocross series and the MVA.  I have also done OBRA and  MFG races though, and I know they are awesome and these people are making a tremendous effort on the grassroots side of the sport and it shows.  OBRA's approach is what is going to grow the sport of bicycle racing in the long haul.  Through hard work and a love of the sport, OBRA has developed the largest cyclocross series in the world by participation.  Its a bottom-up, people power approach.  USA cycling is a top down, republican-trickle-down-economics approach.  And interestingly a lot of professional riders are not happy with this approach either.  I'm not going to support USA cycling if they are going to actively interfere with OBRA or any other alternatively sanctioned series or event.

Sometimes I think bicycle racing is a pointless narcissistic endeavor that I should just abandon entirely. There are plenty of other ways to ride a bicycle.  But then on the other hand I think that it really is a beautiful sport, physically demanding, and a lot of fun.  I am proud of my modest achievements as an amateur bike racer, I have had fun doing it, and I am proud of the power in my legs.

So this year it might be MFG cyclocross races and the odd trip down south for OBRA road and track events.  I really wish WSBA would follow the lead of OBRA though- and ditch USA cycling.

Is bicycle culture accessible?

First of all, what the hell is "bicycle culture"?
As someone who might be in a skinsuit on the velodrome on a friday night or dressed like a hobo pulling kids or groceries in a trailer on wednesday morning or riding to work any old day in a plain old wool jersey- I struggle with the question.  I get opinions on what bike you should be riding, what clothes you should be wearing, and what kind of riding you should be doing all the time.  Most of the time it is contradictory.  For as much time as I spend riding or repairing or geeking out on bikes, I don't feel all that wired into a bicycle community.  So when the racers are talking down their noses at hipsters, and the tweed set are doing the same towards the idiotic Lance Armstrong wannabes- who is right?
Everyone has preferences for certain equipment or styles of riding.  Mine has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and probably will continue to change.
The secret, I think, is this:  if you are riding a bicycle and you are having fun- you are doing it right and you are a part of it!

De-squealing brakes

Its the season for howling brakes.  I thought I would share my understanding of the problem and see if anyone has thoughts to share.  A little squeal is okay, but if you see pedestrians cringing when you stop at an intersection or you find yourself avoiding the front brake to save your eardrums- time to solve the problem.  Although it can be nice to announce hard braking required when a car pulls in front of you...

A shudder or squeal occurs when the brake momentarily locks up and then releases the rim.  If this happens at a low frequency, shudder occurs.  At a higher frequency it is a squeal.  I think of it as being similar to a shimmy:  it is a resonant frequency that can be caused by many small things.  So there is not one universal fix. The main contributor is a bow string effect of the brake cable.  The longer the bowstring, the worse the shudder and squeal.  When the brake is applied, the fork deflects backwards.  This draws the cable tighter, like a bow string.  Which causes the brake to momentarily but suddenly lock the rim.  It does not happen as much on the rear brake because the frame doesn't move in response to braking as the fork does.  Also doesn't happen as much with sidepull  or V brakes because there is no bowstring- the cable attaches directly to the brake.

If you look closely at my commuter here (with the squeal issues) the cable stop is at the usual place on the headset.  That leaves about 12 inches of bowstring.  I solved the problem of brake shudder on my cyclocross bike with a fork crown mounted cable stop.  That leaves about 1.5 inches of bowstring, and totally eliminated brake shudder.  I've had the same results on other bikes.  The fork crown on this bike, which I had R&E cycles make after the demise of the stock fork, doesn't have a hole in the fork crown so its not an option.  I didn't think to specify that when I had the fork built because I assumed that any steel fork aside from maybe a track fork would have a hole.  I was wrong.  Its otherwise a great fork.

Frictional qualities between the rim and brake pad can also cause squeal and shudder.  A new rim can be quite grabby at first, until the surface gets worn in a little.  Tubular glue on the rim surface can cause squealing.  The brake pad material can make a big difference.  In my experience, salmon brake pads squeal less, brake much better in wet conditions, and don't wear the rims out quite as fast as black compounds.  Sometimes taking a brillo pad or sandpaper to the rim and brake pad can eliminate squealing.  In this case the brake pads were getting thin so I replaced them (Yokozuna salmon pads) and the problem is solved.

Finally, its possible that laxity where the brake pivots on the cantilever post or in the parallelogram linkage on V brakes may facilitate squealing.

The amount of fore/aft movement of the fork under braking influences shudder and squeal, as described above.  A properly designed fork can help eliminate the shudder.  Modern cyclocross carbon forks have gone to truly massive fork crowns and oversize lower headset bearings to minimize flex between the cantilever posts and cable stop.  It seems to me that a fork crown mounted cable stop is an easier, lighter, and more elegant solution.  For a steel fork- the fork blades should be oval in cross section at the crown and taper down below the cantilever posts to a nice small radius bend near the dropouts.  This makes it so that fore/aft flexion occurs mostly below the cantilever posts where it won't create the bow string effect.  This also makes it so that more up/down flexing occurs over bumpy terrain, improving ride quality.  The current trend of making straight-bladed steel forks bugs me!  Its done either to mimic carbon forks or save labor, but there is no functional reason for it that I am aware of.

A word on discs, because I know what you're all thinking...  I know, hydraulic discs are awesome.  I have used them.  They belong on suspension bikes because they have unsurpassed power and modulation.  I don't have my own yet but someday I will.  Hydraulic discs are overkill on a road racing bike or cyclocross racing bike.  But on a cargo, commuter, or mountain bike its probably worth the added weight and complexity for the truly awesome braking power.  Going down a steep hill in a rainstorm with a trailer?  I've done that many times, and you have to be really careful!

I'm not sold on cable actuated disc brakes. They have the same drawbacks as hydraulic discs in terms of weight and complexity but aren't as powerful because of cable flex. The pads have to sit really close to the rotor so they are more prone to brake rub if the rotors are warped. Cantilevers are maligned as much as they are because of tricky setup.  A properly set up cantilever is just as powerful, or nearly so, compared to a cable disc.  A poorly set up cantilever is admittedly awful.  No power, poor modulation, and noisy.  The most common pitfalls are a straddle cable that is too high, resulting in no power, or crappy pads.  I don't even bother with the stock black pads anymore.  They are immediately replaced with salmon pads.

So before you toss your cantilevers in the garbage, tinker with them a little.  Lower the straddle cable and change the pads.  You might be surprised.

 

Tyler Farrar races cyclocross

Its not every day a punter like me gets to line up next to Tyler Farrar. Before the gun went off I told him I remembered when he showed up at South Seatac back when he rode for Cofidis.  Now he is a grand tour stage winner and he still shows up to the local cyclocross race!  I think that demonstrates a real love for the sport.  He kept telling people taking his picture before the race that he isn't good at this.  Yeah well with legs like that you can't go too wrong.  I've seen legs like that before- on a quarter horse.

what is your bike made out of?

This one is made of steel.  On my home home from work I made a bonehead move- a left hand turn into an oncoming car.  No idea why I didn't see it.  I've been riding to and from work most days for 10 years.  I hit the front of the car at an angle, went over the bars, bounced off the windshield and landed on my feet.  I completely caved  in the windshield and don't even have a bruise myself. Really stupid and really lucky.  The visibly shaken but nice woman in the car that I hit and I had a short but pleasant conversation and exchanged information.  I put the wheel back in the skewed fork and rode home, slowly.
 Try that with a carbon fork.  I'm afraid the fork is beyond help this time but I had the people at Elliott Bay straighten it from a crash several years ago. Right now there is a trend for even steel frames to use a carbon fork.  I would rather ride a carbon frame with a steel fork.  A frame is a nice strong triangle and less likely to fail, and even if it does you can probably land safely.  If, on the other hand, a steerer tube or fork leg snaps while you are riding- and we all know that it happens- you are going to hit the ground hard.
Other benefits of a properly designed steel fork, aside from reliability, in my opinion, are better ride quality and better clearance for mud/fenders/bigger tires.  Its probably true that carbon transmits less road vibration and has a nice damp feel to it.  The straight legs on carbon forks are really stiff vertically.  A steel fork with the offset in a nice round bend near the dropouts, like this Colorado II fork, is much more comfortable.  If anyone has an orphaned Serotta Colorado fork with 9 inches of steerer let me know!

Steilacoom

After riding towards the front of the Cat 3 field for the last 5 years, I finally got a win today.  Usually I'm content to just race but I really wanted a win at Steilacoom.  My first cross race was at Steilacoom in 2005, with no spandex and on my trusty Bontrager hardtail.  I had just read an article in the Seattle Times about cyclocross.  I didn't know anyone who raced cyclocross but I had to try it.  Steilacoom, even without the legendary Knapp time run up, is one of my favorite courses- along with Woodland Park and the old Fort Flagler.  Now its on to Cat 2 pack fodder.  Its been fun.

I'm normally not one to geek out on gear.  I have no idea what is taking Don Walker so long to build my new  cross bike.  I'm still racing on a generic aluminum frame with barcon shifters I built up in 2006.   But today I had on a new set of Challenge Fango clinchers.  I have used a Challenge tubular on the front before but I never got around to building up a tubular rear wheel because I rolled the front tire off once or twice.  You can't have a decent result if you roll your tire.  So I usually just use a clincher with WTB cross wolf tires.  They do corner really well.  But I've got to think that a handmade tire with a really supple casing has noticeably improved rolling resistance.  I think its true that a tubular is faster if you can get it to stay on, because you can run them at lower pressures and therefore have better traction in corners.  They are also lighter but I think the weight is a non issue.  But I suspect a handmade clincher with a cotton or cotton/poly casing has the benefit of extremely low rolling resistance, similar to a handmade tubular tire.  The Biccyle Quarterly people have done some really interesting tests on rolling resistance that seem to bear this out.  Its really kind of funny that with all the carbon wheels, electronic shifting, and other high zoot items that seem to be must-have items for a lot of people- the single best thing you can do to make yourself faster, with respect to equipment, is buy some old fashioned handmade tires.  One nice thing about that- we are talking about 80 dollars instead of 40 dollars for a tire.  Not thousands for carbon wheels or electronic drivetrains.

It must have been close to 80 degrees at Steilacoom today.  I'm hoping the odd color of my urine is from beet salad and not dehydration.  It was dry and dusty, but a lot of the corners were still tricky due to loose dirt/sand/gravel.  My plan was to not eat it too hard in any of the turns and pick people off going up the long hills and it worked.  One of the dudes in the creepy pink kit with kittens and knives on it was killing it on a singlespeed- I would have been in trouble if he had been riding a geared bike.  A Keller Rohrbach rider was close too but I think I heard him slide out at one point and he couldn't make it back.

running stairs

Cyclocross season is almost here- I suspect most people have some sights, sounds, or habits that are the harbinger of fall.  Maybe its the chill in the air in the mornings or the leaves starting to turn color.  One thing for me is running stairs.  Usually the ones overgrown with blackberries and ivy off of 98th street, because they're close to home.  It is a sure fire way to get in a maximum intensity interval workout and wake up the running muscles that occasionally are called into use in a cyclocross race.
I started running stairs before I started racing cyclocross.  I worked for a guy in the veterinary school in Pullman in the summer, making anatomy specimens.  I had heard he was a helicopter machine gunner in the Vietnam war.  He had an odd, quiet intensity about him.  He always won his age division in running events in the area and had a tendency to quench his post race thirst with beer.  If you worked for him, there was a deal that on tuesdays you could exercise for an hour or two on the clock.  But you had to exercise- if you were eating, reading, or on the computer you had to clock out.  I'm sure it was a flagrant violation of university policy but nobody ever questioned what this guy did.  So we would run stairs at the stadium on the clock.  We usually had to climb a chain link fence to get into the stadium but nobody ever seemed to care.  When I moved back to Seattle after graduation, I was irked that it was not possible to get into the UW stadium to run stairs.  If I ever own my own business I am going to continue the tradition of physical fitness tuesdays.