Its Saturday morning.
The sun is shining (it has been raining all week).
The bike is fresh from the shop.
The kids have their bikes circled and are waiting for me.
Come on, saddle up and get out there!
Lets make some noise!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6P8Zxn5VpY]
No really, this is a serious question. Can a person have too many bikes?
I am asking myself this question because I just bought another bike which means that I now have 5 bikes. So am I becoming the eccentric cat lady of cycling? Meaning that I just keep getting more kittens bikes until there isn’t any room in my tiny flat for anything else? Hmmm
My latest acquisition is a used Trek T 1 fixed gear bike. I plan to use this bike to commute to work. My hope is that the simplified drive train will be easier to maintain during the winter when riding conditions deteriorate. I would like to avoid last winter’s experience where I found that all the salt and road grime easily clogged Celine’s gears.
I am also hoping that the fixie will help me build leg strength as I prepare for next summer’s two Ironman races.
Ok, so that bike purchase sounds totally logical. The new bike helps with my training goals and since I won’t be driving to work as much, it will be good for the environment. But what about my other bikes? Can I do without any of them?
Well let see. Of course I have to keep my race bike Pitou. I have big plans for her next year and besides I just got her this past March.
There is no way I could part with the C-Section as I do most of my Ironman training on this bike. She really is fantastic ride and besides, there is that emotional bond that exists after we both survived crashing on the Coquihalla Highway during the Ride 2 Survive.
I will still need a bike to ride for the winter group rides with EBTC so I guess I will still have to hang on to my old Dion tri bike Celine.
And lastly there is my 24 year old Miyata Terra Runner mountain bike. Admittedly I have not ridden this bike in several years so it is just gathering dust in the bike room. I suppose that makes this bike the most likely candidate for recycling. It would be tough to part with it though. The Miyata has certainly lasted longer than any of my relationships. This bike was also a catalyst for a big lifestyle change just two years into life with HIV. How could I part with such a friend?
So I am not sure what to do. Therefore I ask all of you out there in the blogosphere, can a person have too many bikes? Perhaps I guess. Just remember, it’s not like I am collecting crack pipes or anything.
I cycled out to Sasamat Lake this morning. The weather was pretty nice right up until I biked the final hills into the lake. Then suddenly it was cold and rainy. So my plan for a refreshing swim in the lake was altered to flash dip and flee.
I took this picture just before I left the lake. Yikes! It looks as if it was taken in November!
Bet you thought that this story was about the self-proclaimed leader of the free world. Nope. This story is about another Texan with an alcohol problem.
MSNBC is reporting that a 28 year old Texan fell asleep while driving drunk through the Mexican town of Matamoros. That in itself would be tragic (and stupid). However the scenario is much worse since the driver lost control of his vehicle as he plowed into an organized cycling race.
As you can see from this photo, the results were horriffic.
photo credit: MSNBC
I sure hope there aren’t any Texans on the road next week when we do 400 km of highway riding in the Ride 2 Survive.
I think that great modern prophet Madonna (groan) captured the flavour of this weekend’s 240 km cyclefest:
You just gotta give more more more
Than you ever have before
And you got move fast, fast, fast
if you want this good thing to last
My first ride of the weekend was on Saturday. It was a beautiful sunny summer day, the kind of warm day that we dream of during the long wet winter months. I was bored with all of our regular cycling routes so I wanted to come up with a new route. Because it was such a beautiful day, the route had to be scenic ride but I also wanted to do some hillwork. So I came up with a ~100 km route that combined a ride out to Sasamat Lake with a sidetrip to Burnaby Moutnain. The only thing left was to sell the plan to the gang from EBTC (democracy by social networking = herding cats) and then head out for a really great ride.
I was feeling really strong on Saturday so I threw in a couple of time trial’esque style sprints. At least that is my official story. Perhaps I was just showing off by rocketing by the rest of the group. Yes me, the (almost) 50 year old adult child still likes to show off in front of the other kids.
The best part of the ride was when we peeled off our cylcing togs and swam in the chilly waters of Sasamat Lake.
On Sunday, I went out on a Ride2Survive training ride with Team Coastal. It was my first time riding with these guys so I was a bit apprehensive. Afterall, they were real cyclists and not triathletes.
In addition, the route selected was quite challenging as it was designed to prepare us for one of the tougher sections of the Ride2Survive. Oy, it was a hillfest. However it was all pretty easy to manage since there were so many delays along the way. We were always stopping for coffee breaks, pee breaks, discussions with other cyclists and of course for the occasional flat tire. In fact there were so many delays that I had to leave the ride after 6 hours because I had to be back in town in order to attend my volunteer training for this weeks ITU World Championship. Still I did manage to complete ~140 km that included climbing elevations of 3500 metres.
The cool aspect of this ride was discovering all of these really interesting neighbourhoods that I would never have otherwise experienced. Like this funky little coffee shop located somewhere in the hills of North Vancouver.
I think that 240 km of cycling is enough for one weekend. No?
Tired body says yes!
I picked up my new bike today. Well actually that is a bit of an oversimplification as there was quite a lengthy process that had to be followed. Good thing that I had booked the whole afternoon off work.
First the new cleats had to be attached to my new shoes.
Then the bike fitting started.
First up was the measuring of the inseam, something that always makes me a bit nervous, having to hold up that tool between your legs at the “uncomfortable position”. Eww..
Then on to the bike and begin to fine tuning the seat height and position. Using the goyim meter (I don’t know what it is called but it measures the angle of your leg at full extension – if it really was goyim meter then it would have redlined).
Next up we did the width, height, angle and length of the aerobars.
Of course there has to be accessories (bling!) so I had to select the bottle cages and the required X-Lab mount.
And after all that, I still have to return to the bike shop later this week to get the bike computer installed and also swap the saddle (my butt don’t like that stock saddle).
Then I went out to ride. It was awesome. I zipped out to Whytecliffe Park for a 55 km breakin ride. It was a great ride despite my losing a water bottle and the before mentioned saddle issues.
No matter how good a ride this bike is, the bottom line is that I had to buy this bike. It matched my couch. Whatever other reason could there be?
Look it has dirt on it. Gasp!
I was inspired by fellow triathlete and blogger Libor who signed up for the Ride 2 Survive. So on June 21st I will be joining Libor as we cycle from Kelowna to Delta (thats 400 km in one day!) to raise money to fight cancer. Perhaps this is not the smartest activity to undertake 3 weeks prior to Ironman Switzerland however I think I will suck it up in order to support such a great cause.
I should have an online link available soon if you would like to donate towards this cause.
Thanks for reading.
I came up this version of Elvis’s song when I got a flat tire last night in deepest darkest East Vancouver.
In the Ghetto
On a cold and gray vancouver night
A poor little tri cyclist gets a flat
In the ghetto
And the crackheads circle
cause if theres one thing that crackheads need
Its easy money for a habit to feed
In the ghetto
People, don’t you understand
This tri-idiot needs a helping hand
Or he’ll freeze his butt off this day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
Well the world turns
And a hungry little tri-idiot with a runny nose
Fumbles with his tire as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
And the crackheads moan
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmVFnhO3A98]
I started salivating uncontrollably when I got this email. Weird. Must have been close to lunch or somethin’….
On Jan 14, 2008 8:24 AM, Calvin wrote:
Don,
It gets closer…
Your bike:
|
ItemDesc |
Qty |
Qty |
|
Prior Confirmed |
Updated Confirmed |
|
|
Ordered |
Remaining |
|
Ship Date |
Ship Date |
|
P2 CARBON ULTEGRA BIKE 56CM WHITE |
1 |
1 |
|
31-Mar-2008 |
29-Feb-2008 |
Calvin
I went into SpeedTheory today and put down a deposit on a new bike. I am getting a new Cervelo P2 Carbon triathlon bike which will come in the new silver and black colour treatment. Yes my brothers, she is sweet and Sexy.
This will be my first real triathlon bike. So I guess this means no more old school Ironmans for this guy. Got to ditch my roadie gear and get me some triathlon bling. Including of course new bike shoes by Manolo Blahnik?
NOT!
The new wheels will not arrive for a couple of months so I have some time to come up with a name for her. My current Cervelo road bike is called “C Section” and my old Dion bike was called Celine (naturally). Any ideas you guys?
Studio YVR 
