Colnago Update - Handlebars

I finally have the correct handlebars in hand. Look at this picture and note two items; 1) the cool carbon fiber weave, and 2) how the round bar flattens and widens a bit towards the middle where your hands spend a fair amount of time. I like the non-round shape of the perch.



Here is a picture of the bar mounted;



And here's one with a brake/shifter installed. Note the graduated lines that make it easy to keep the brake hoods even on both the right and left sides;



I have lots of non-cycling obligations this week-end and am not sure how much time I'm going to have to work on this little project but I'll do what I can. This is taking much longer than I thought it would.

Pedals & Cleats

Take a look at the instructions and all of the pieces that make up a Speedplay pedal system;



I have one word for that. Yikes!

After trying to understand the verbose instructions filled with sentences like; "The minimum compatible shoe radius is 160mm and will use the factory-installed set of two gray 1-F and 2 gray 1-R snap shims", and, "The extra shim must be installed under the appropriate rear mounting screw to raise the lower side of the base plate and make it flat", I almost gave up in frustration. I mean what with, "the extra shim must be installed" and "raise the lower side", who wouldn't be confused?

The Look system I had been using for 15 years is made up of a simple pedal, a simple cleat and three screws per foot. Completely obvious to the casual observer. No piles of shims, spacers, springs, screws and bolts.

As I sat in a state of complete irritation I began looking at the pedal. Then to the shoe. Then to the pile of stuff. Back and forth a few times. Suddenly, what the instructions had turned into complete confusion became quite obvious. Amazing what a little looking around can do.

Ten minutes later I had the stuff installed and was tooling around the driveway in the darkness to get a feel for the new pedal/cleat set up.

Road Trip

Work required that I drive to St. Paul, Minnesota for a meeting. A one hour meeting. Eleven hours in a car for a one hour meeting. That's a lot of windshield time and here are some of the things that I observed;

1) No question that cell phone use by drivers is a hazard. Each time I saw a car swerve or make some other unexpected move the driver was on a cell phone. The amazing thing is that they didn't even seem to notice that they were driving erratically. As I passed them they were motioning with their free hand as an animation to the conversation, completely oblivious to the fact that they were controlling (as it were) a ton and a half chuck of steel traveling at 70 mph (that's a lot of misunderstood kinetic energy). People, please; when you're on a phone the listener cannot see you, no need to make gestures. You're having a tough time keeping the car under control as it is. I've never been one to advocate government regulation of activities but from what I saw these past two days something has got to be done. Why not a simple "hands free" rule whereby drivers must use a hands free set-up if they're going to be on the phone. I know, I know, I've heard the arguments about eating, smoking, reading (I once saw a semi driver reading a paperback book while behind the wheel), yelling at the kids, looking at maps, etc. And you may argue that inattentive driving is inattentive driving but in my observations nothing is as universal as drivers and cell phones. Has your experience been different?

2) The police, state troopers and sheriff's were out in force. I don't think I went ten miles without seeing one hidden in the bushes or already handing out a ticket. What gives? The end of the month my friends. I'm not buying the, "we don't have ticket quotas" crap that we hear from time to time from highway patrol departments. I love cops. Really, I do. They make our world a much safer place and they often lay it on the line for us. But come on! Are they suggesting that drivers speed more at the end of every month? I drove to the Twin Cities in the middle of last month and I don't think I saw a trooper during the entire 700 mile trip. And another thing, I think that they should be 'patrolling', not hiding in the bushes.

3) It was warm and sunny and that brings out the convertibles. Why is it that the convertibles on television and in movies always contain a sweet looking blond but all I saw in them were over-weight, middle-aged, bald guys? And why do over-weight, middle-aged, bald guys buy these cars in the first place? A hot chick can get away with driving a Pontiac Sundance convertible. These guys just looked pathetic. Maybe there's something about having the wind blow over your bald spot that I just don't get.

4) I dislike drivers that are happy to sit 15 feet off your stern if you're speeding along slightly above the posted speed limit but will slow down as soon as you do and will never get in front. I guess their thinking is that if two cars are going 80 mph the guy in the lead car will get the ticket. Has it ever occurred to them that when we blast by the cop hiding in the bushes the guy in the rear is the closest to the trooper as he's trying to catch up? Driving is like cycling, you need to take turns at the front, it's only fair.

5) The monuments in Wisconsin are down right embarrassing. London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Seattle has the Space Needle. Look at what I saw here in Wisconsin, and remember, these were the highlights;







I do like the fact that the 'artist' that designed the bull (that's the animal in the last photo for you city slickers) so that he looked very mean. Although I don't get why he's sporting a halter.

6) A joke; four ex-presidents find themselves standing in front of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. The Wizard grants each of them one wish. Jimmy Carter says, "I wish I had the nerve". Ronald Reagan says, "I wish I had a heart". George Bush says, "I wish I had a brain". Bill Clinton says, "Where's that Dorothy?".

Evening Ride / Colnago Update

It was the loveliest evening that you could ask for. Light breezes and 72 degrees. Sunshine putting that little golden glow on everything, birds whistling blissfully with their mates and bugs getting into my hair and teeth. But I'm not complaining. Spring is everywhere and if that means bugs I'll take it.

48 miles riding about the rolling hills surrounding West Bend with two highlights; first, I was cycling along swampland and the singing of the frogs was as loud as I've ever heard it. I actually stopped to take it all in. If you're familiar with frog song you know that when one frog stops singing, they all do. One must have noticed me and stopped singing. Hundreds at a time stopped and I could hear the singing get fainter as if a ripple in the water. The sound stopping at the epicenter and moving outwards until the deafening noise had turned into deafening silence. Cool.

Second, for the first time this year I rode through breezes filled with the sweet smell of lilac. Easily my favorite scent. It signifies, spring, rebirth, the coming of summer and wonderfully pink and purple blossoms. I wish I could put a scratch and sniff tab on the web site so that you could all share it.

Alright, enough of the sappy stuff (note the pun), on to the Colnago. Here it is at the present time;



The Boss picked up some new pedals for me so I'll put those on tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm still in a holding pattern awaiting the handlebars. Hope to have them in hand on Thursday or Friday. Then it's an hour or two of work and it should be ready for the break-in ride. Yippee!

Question: I heard once that the label of the tires should go on either the left side (port) or the right side (starboard). Trouble is, I can't remember which. Anyone know? I think it's just an insider or fashion thing but still, might as well do it right. As you can see I've got them on the right side so I hope that is correct.

Madison Criterium #2 Race Report

Today the gang headed out to the People's Republic of Madison for another criterium bicycling race.

Overcast skies and windy conditions greeted the 63 riders who wheeled up to the starting line. Our group was well represented with The Boss, Mike, Darin, Russ and myself.

Before I get too far into the report let me come clean on something; since crashing in a race last fall I've been overly nervous about racing in large group criteriums. Today was no different. I worry that I'll crash, break a collar bone and wreck my summer. This is no way to race. I've always said that 50% of bike racing is psychological and the other half is in your head. And therein lies my problem. My legs were good, my lungs were fine. My head was not. Instead of wasting time at the back of the pack and riding while squeezing too hard, I decided to do what I was told never to do, quit a race. I pulled out at half distance as a test; if quitting the race leaves me feeling bad, I can use that feeling to get myself back in the game. If I'm OK with pulling out then I'm probably better off just racing in road races and time trials. We'll give this a week and see how it feels. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if any of you could share similar experiences or any positive advice by clicking on the "Comments" link at the bottom of this post or by clicking on the "Contact" tab at left. Thanks in advance.

Back to the race; with high winds, solo attacks were not likely to succeed as trying to buck a stiff wind all by yourself usually proves too difficult. But predictably, that didn't stop a couple of guys from trying. Each breakaway was caught in less than a lap by the thundering pack. After 40 minutes of racing and with 3 laps to go the pace quickened. Here's a shot of Barry putting the hammer down (I did my best to be a little useful by taking some photos and some video);



The fast pace and the jockeying for position always makes for an exciting finish. Riders are fighting and bumping to get into a good spot for the final sprint while pedaling at 26 mph and turning sharp corners just inches from each other. It's a war out there.

With a long, uphill finish the key, the crux, the magic as it were, was to hit the gas early enough to move ahead without hitting it so early that you couldn't finish strong enough to hold your position. A number of racers, The Boss included, tapped that magic and finished well in a furious flurry. See for yourself by clicking the 'Madison Crit Finish' tab under 'Elvis' Blog' at left.

You can click on the pause button (looks kind of like this; II ) while viewing the movie to stop the action. Then, move the little dot back and forth along the timeline to fast forward, slow down or stop the movie anywhere that you'd like.

Isn't technology cool? As always, turn the sound down if you view the movie at work. And honestly, we all know that you're doing this at work, don't we?

Our team did well with The Boss finishing third overall, Mike 9th, Russ 15th and Darin just behind. When the official results are posted I'll update this with category placements.

UPDATE - OFFICIAL RESULTS

Barry 1st in category, 3rd overall
Mike 2nd in category, 12th overall
Russ 5th in category, 15th overall
Darin 19th in category, 41st overall
Elvis DNF

Quick Update on the New Bike With Pictures (Or, Bike Porn)

Here is the status as of this evening;







I haven't had a lot of time to work on it. Another delay has been caused by my choice of handlebars. I wanted to go with a bar a bit smaller than what I currently use, the trouble is, the bar I ordered is WAY smaller. I returned it yesterday and ordered a bar identical to what I've got on my current ride. It should be here in a week.

Since the brake/shift levers go on the bars there is not much else I can do until the handlebars arrive. Can't cut the cables, can't adjust the brakes, can't adjust the derailleurs. I guess I'll just put the tubes and tires on the wheels, thread the chain and slap on the bottle cages and saddle bag. That'll put me a bit ahead when the handlbars arrive as those items are usually the last things put on to complete a build up. Then comes a week or so of tweaking the position of shoe cleats, saddle height, handlebar height, handlebar angle, lever position, saddle set-back, you get the idea. At least during the tweak phase you get to put some miles on the thing.

Most amazingly, I haven't broken anything yet. Haven't cracked any carbon, scratched the finish or lost any tiny nuts, bolts or washers. I know it's early in the process, but so far, so good.

Almost Getting Run Over (Or, Steinhafels Sucks)

Last evening on our Tuesday night ride we almost got wasted by a Steinhafels truck. Steinhafels for those of you not in Wisconsin is one of the larger furniture store chains. We were riding east on Highland Road in Mequon at about 5:30 pm (if any of you work at this place look at the driver log and find out who this dick head is, I'd like to get him fired). We were riding on the shoulder of the road and the driver of the delivery truck was literally hugging the white line while driving at an excessive rate of speed. He was inches off of our left elbows and had one of us slipped or swerved due to the crumbling asphalt or the wind we would have had no place to go but under his wheels. There was zero margin for error.

Let me quote a few of the Wisconsin Statutes pertaining to bicycling;

1) Section 346.80(2)(a) states that a cyclist should ride as far to the right as is practicable (not as far right as possible). Practicable means safe and reasonable. Unsafe surface conditions is one of the listed situations where riding far to the right is not practicable. This was the case last evening. The shoulder was full of cracked and crumbling asphalt making bicycle travel tricky, at best. Bicyclists have the right to be in the lane of traffic and are not required to ride on the shoulder. In fact, some municipalities prohibit riding on the shoulder, feeling that it is safer for bicyclists to have an established position in the lane of traffic. We were however, right of the white line and not in the lane of traffic at all times.

2) Section 346.02(4)(a) states that the operator of a bicycle is granted the same rights and subject to the same duties as the driver of any other vehicle.

3) Section 346.80(3)(a) states that riding two-abreast is permitted on any street as long as other traffic is not impeded. I add this one because we're constantly getting honked and/or yelled at anytime we're not in single file. There appears to be a wide-spread and complete misunderstanding of this law by motorists. We were in single file at the time of the incident.

4) This one is key; Section 346.075(1) - The operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall exercise due care, leaving a safe distance, but in no case less than 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicycle, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle. In no case less than 3 feet, 4 is better, 5 is great. This one is violated frequently and was certainly violated by the Steinhafels driver. Jerk.

Anyway, had one of us been crushed by this knucklehead and his truck, both he and Steinhafels would be facing a huge financial and public relations disaster. And we and our families, well, I don't even want to go there. There is simply no excuse for this type of driving or behavior.

I only wish that I hadn't been so pumped up on adrenaline that I would have thought to note the plate number, had I been able to see it in the fraction of a second that he was close enough for one to read it.

Don't buy anything from Steinhafels, we shouldn't enable this type of activity.

Click the link below to view some bicycle rules and safety tips from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Hey Steinhafels! Have your bone-headed drivers review this.

Bicycle Safety Tips

There, I feel better now.

Appleton Time Trial Report

On Saturday The Boss, Russ and I headed up to Appleton, WI for a Wisconsin Cycling Association time trial. It was a beautiful day with light breezes, lots of sunshine and cool temperatures. Ideal for an all out effort on a bicycle. The course was a 13 mile affair in the out and back style on a lightly used road along the beautiful Fox River. Russ and I had never done a time trial and while 13 miles seemed like a fairly short distance, trying to figure out just how fast to go and how much effort to expend in the first few miles was going to be difficult. Starting off at 26 miles per hour you are likely to blow up after 3 or 4 miles and have nothing left for the remainder of the race. On the other hand, holding back too much would leave you with a lousy time.

The Boss provided his usual to-the-point advice; ride until you feel like puking, your eyes are bleeding, or both.

Russ was the fourth rider out of the gate, I was fifth and Barry was sixth. We set out at one minute intervals. In addition to almost throwing up twice on the course I kept thinking that I heard The Boss coming up behind me. Not wanting him to catch me I would apply more pressure on the pedals, tuck my head and body lower into the wind and grind away. The logic was two-fold; make The Boss pay for catching me and make both of us go faster. As it turned out Barry didn't quite catch me and all three of us rode fast enough to end up in the top ten in our category. Barry 5th, me 7th and Russ 9th.

All of our smiling faces were covered in sweat, drool and snot. It was beautiful!

Here are some pictures;







That's Barry (The Boss) in the first picture, Russ in the second and yours truly last. And yes, that is drool on my tights. Funny thing about these time trials; your nose is running uncontrollably, you're drooling all over, the wind is whipping the gunk on your face and clothing, and you don't care. I wonder what that says about a person?

A note about the pictures; as you can see by the imprinted copyright notice they were taken by Extreme Photography. I've ordered these prints from Extreme so don't think that I've stolen them. As soon as the picture files arrive I'll update the photos with the imprint removed.

New Colnago (Bike) Update

Here is a picture of all of the stuff that's going to go on the new Colnago frame to make it a usable bicycle;



For me the most nerve-racking part of building up a new bike is cutting the steerer tube to size. If done incorrectly a guy can end up with a very expensive piece of art. So I measure, measure again, repeat, do it all over a few more times and then put hacksaw to carbon.

Here are a few pictures of the process;







Fortunately the multitude of measurements and careful alignment and cutting worked out. I now have a custom sized fork. Step one, the hardest part, is complete. I've been avoiding this step and now that it's done maybe I can work in earnest on getting this thing put together.

Having a cool bike is one thing, being safe and surviving the battlefield of US roads is another. As yet another service to our dear readers I give you this link to a very useful article entitled, "How to Not Get Hit by Cars". Read it, share it with your children, I mean it.

The Sun is Here!

Wow! With temperatures in the mid-60's for most of the week and 80 degrees on Friday it was time to put on some miles while wearing, I hope that you sitting down, shorts! Ahhhh!

On Tuesday The Boss, Darin, Russ and Sweet Baby Nate pulled me up and around the Holy Hill area for a scrorching 50 miles. The first fast, hilly ride of the season is always tough and there always seemed to be one of us fresh at the top of each climb so as to keep any letups to a minimum. Although windy, it was actually warm for the first time this year. For you readers from southern climes you will never understand what an absolute joy it is to ride for the first time in months in nothing but shorts and a short sleeved shirt. You might think that you do but believe me, unless you ride for 6 months of the year with 10 pounds of extra clothing on and still freeze, you don't. Hey, don't get me wrong, I'd much rather live in a warmer part of the world, it's just that we need to take our joy where we can get it. Warm wind over bare arms and legs, wondrous.

The rest of the week was spent fine tuning for the time trail that is scheduled for Saturday in Appleton, WI. A time trial is a race where each cyclist sets out alone, at one minute intervals. No pack riding, no drafting. Each man on his own. Contre la montre, the French call it - against the clock. I've never done a time trial so whatever fine tuning I did was essentially made up of a few easy spins to keep the legs fresh. Oh, I did put a set of old clip on time trial bars (see photo, below) on the front of my bike. At least it will look like I did something.

Worms and Frames

Take a look at this photo of my bike;



See that long, stringy thing on the frame? Looks like a worm. Smells like a worm. Tastes like a worm. It is a worm! Maybe it's time to clean the bike. I know that spring riding is filled with sand, salt, road debris, etc., but sheesh! Worms? It also highlights the need, and I do mean need for a second frame. One for crappy weather riding and racing (dings, dents, scratches and so on) and another for sunny days. And it's always good to have a backup in the event of a mechanical failure or other problem. You may recall that NASA utilized the theory of triple redundancy for safety purposes during the moon landings. So I guess I should think about having three bikes. Or is that four? Single redundancy would be a main and a backup, double redundancy would be...

With that in mind, the UPS man showed up today. That's right folks, the new frame arrived! Everything appears to be in order and I'm excited to finally have it.



Now I need to get to work putting it together. I have quite a bit of the Shimano Dura-Ace stuff that I... What's that? You think it's akin to blasphemy that I'm putting Japanese components on an Italian frame? As much as it would be nice to slap some Campagnolo stuff on the new frame the fact is I find that the Shimano stuff works better. It's a personal thing but I'd rather use what I like and know rather than put other stuff on just to keep the thing all Italian. What do I care? I've got no affinity for Italy or Italians. I'm sure it's a lovely country and the people are probably nice but it's my bike, I'll do whatever I want with it. Unless of course you make me an offer I can't refuse. Capiche?

Anyway, where was I... Oh yea, I purchased most of the parts over last summer and fall as things went on sale. Then I gave it to my wife to distribute among family members to give to me as holiday gifts. Pretty neat plan isn't it? They didn't have to worry about what to get me, and I got what I wanted. And there's no need to tell anyone that a Dura Ace crank doesn't really cost $35.00 is there?

What I like about the clear coat of the frame (besides being a few grams lighter than paint), is that you can see the weave of the carbon fiber. Take a look;



I hope to start assembly sometime this week. On Wednesday I'm picking up a Specialized handlebar and stem that I ordered last week. With that I think that I've got all the bits that I need, with the exception of wheels and a computer. For wheels I'll probably go with Mavics as I really like the pair that I've got. Computer? I've never been happy with any that I've had. If you've got a recommendation I'd love to hear it.

Madison Criterium Bike Race Report

Today my cycling buddies and I went to Madison, WI (The People's Republic of Madison) for a criterium bike race. A criterium is where a bunch of cyclists go around a one-block square again and again. It's good viewing for the fans because the cyclists go by every minute or so and it's a bit dangerous as 75 cyclists turning sharp corners at very close proximity inevitably leads to crashes.

I usually do long-winded reports of these things but The Boss has a way with words that has a special charm. Here is his report;

"75 entrants...fast start....round and round we go...Aaron attacks and gets a nice gap for a few laps...gets reeled in....round and round we go....Aaron try's again and gets no where.....round and round we go....Aaron rolls off the front...I tell a bunch of 30+ers from Madison on the same team that he's going to win....they do nothing....Aaron wins, I sprint pass 4000 people and get second...".

I'll just add that Aaron is a good friend of ours so it was a pleasure to see him win. The Boss won the bunch sprint and was also first in his age category. Russ finished snugly in the pack, me a bit further back. Two crashes resulted in one ambulance trip to repair a broken collar bone for a cyclist that we don't know.

Trek at Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix, for you non-cyclists, is the most famous one-day cycling race. It's a big deal in the world of cycling and because many miles of the race wind over ancient cobblestones the bike and equipment manufacturers like to brag about how well their equipment performs. The cobblestones are vicious on equipment. Anyway, on this morning's Cycling News web site the big story was regarding the cool and high-tech gear that Trek Bikes had put together for American racer George Hincapie (read the article here). The article, which was really just a press release/marketing job for Trek, claimed that Hincapie's bike benefited from, "Trek's performance advantage technology". What exactly would that be, I wonder? Trek also pointed out that the fork, although a stock item for Trek was a part of the very special, "prototype for Roubaix". Trek still has sway over the cycling industry because of seven long years of controlling access to Lance Armstrong, which allows them the opportunity to get headlines in the cycling world. I think that sometimes this aura of invincibility can get the better of people and companies. Here's a picture of the bike from before the race;



During one of the cobbled sections Hincapie's fork actual snapped in two, leaving the handlebars useless and Hincapie with no place to go but face first onto the stones. This is (thankfully) a rare but catastrophic event. No handlebars equals no balance and no control. At 25 mph this tends to be a problem. The result for Hincapie was missing an opportunity to win the race he prizes above all others, and a trip to the surgeon to fix his shoulder. See the after picture here, and note the handlebars askew from their usual location.



The point of all of this? Brag about your cool, high-tech stuff after the event. And maybe some more testing before big events. You'll like like an idiot otherwise. Are you listening Trek?

I could go on about how Trek has become soft in the belly after seven long years of riding on Lance Armstrong's coattails but I'll spare you my rant and simply make this prediction; hard times are about to befall Trek, how the management of this privately owned company deals with it will make or break the company. In five years time, world domination (with respect to bikes) or swallowed up by a large multi-national.

New Bike

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a new bike frame. I've been contemplating this for some time now and it's good to have the decision made. I settled on a Colnago C-50. It's similar to the bike I currently ride (and love). The dimensions will be identical but the frame material will be different. I currently ride a Colnago CT-2 and it's made mostly of titanium with bits of carbon here and there. The new ride will be all carbon fiber. I ordered it from a highly respected dealer in London, England. Should take about a week to get here. Here is a picture from the catalog;


I'll keep you posted when it arrives and as I put the bits and pieces on it that will make it a complete bicycle.

Tucson Cycling Trip Report

To view some fine images from the trip click HERE.
This trip took place March 4-10, 2006.

After an uneventful flight from Milwaukee to Phoenix we grabbed a van and headed to Tucson.

Our de casa... Le casa... Me casa?... The place we're staying... is a lovely home in a golfing community called Saddlebrooke. Our hosts are Gene and Sheila Rech, a very spunky couple who insist on feeding us every chance they get. They've got all of the insider scoop on where to go ride, what sights are worth seeing and which restaurants we should avoid.



After getting our bikes put together we saddled up and headed out, and up, to a town called Oracle. One notable item from the ride included a side trip to Biosphere 2 (Recall the failed experiment whereby a group of pseudo scientists were going to live inside a self-sufficient geodesic dome for two years. The experiment came apart after the men, who outnumbered the women, began battling for female companionship. After all of the thoughtful design of the building and it's re-cycling capabilities they somehow forgot about human nature). I would have taken a picture but they hide the buildings behind a wall and you can get a view only if you pay a fee. Being the cheap cyclists we are we took on some free water and split. Here's a picture I grabbed from their website here, that'll teach 'em.



Our starting altitude of 3200 feet quickly rose to over 5000 feet and for a couple of fellas who spend their lives at 800 feet the thin air soon had us gasping. But for a couple of fellas who also spend their lives at 25 degrees and snow, the sunny skies and 75 degrees has us smiling the entire time. 46 relatively easy miles on day 1. But the best part came about 1 block into the ride. We turned a corner and I saw a woman walking in our direction, out of habit I yelled, "Walker up!". This is something that we do instinctively in the summertime and hearing it in early March was a beautiful thing. You probably have to be a cyclist to appreciate how lovely that moment was.

Day 2 had us driving 30 miles to Tucson proper. The most popular ride of the Tucson locals is a ride starting at the University of Arizona heading west and up into a mountain range. The climb from the city up to Gates Pass has you going from modern urban living to wild west scenery filled with Saguaro cactus in about 30 minutes. The climbing is tough but steady and the scenery is spectacular.



Up over the top and it's a fast and nerve racking hi-speed drop into the valley of Saguaro National Park. Darin, with his skills learned from years of motorcycle racing was first to the bottom.

This being the desert, we are always on the lookout for water. Our choice here was between Old Tucson, which is an old Hollywood set that was used in the 50's and 60's for just about every western movie that's now been turned into a classless tourist stop, or the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We chose the nature center and filled our bottles from a bubbler surrounded by strange looking cacti and numerous singing birds.

From there we put in a couple of hours of pure fun as we rolled up and down the desert landscape. Stopping only to refill our water bottles. 63 miles of glorious sunshine. The day was made even better when we learned that it was snowing back home. Ahhhh!

We've put in a couple of good days of hard riding but it's only been a warm-up for tomorrow. The twenty seven mile climb and nine thousand and two hundred vertical feet of Mount Lemmon await us. We'd better get some rest...

The highlight of this cycling trip was going to be the big climb up Mt. Lemmon which we planned to do on Thursday, after a few days of acclimating to the hard riding and the altitude. But Monday morning dawned so bright, beautiful and warm that we decided to give it a go.

The thinking was that if we had any difficulties we could always try it again later in the week. Right.

We drove to the bottom of the monster and parked right at the sign marking "Mile 0". After getting our bikes together and our gear on we pedaled around a few minutes looking for a nice easy warm-up route. Every road was steep; either up or down. Figuring that any warm-up would just add to our vertical gain we decided to head straight up, trying to set an easy pace early as to not blow up before the top.

The climb features a journey through seven eco-zones. From arid desert at the base to sub arctic at the top. 80 degrees at the bottom had us in short sleeves. Knowing that we might be looking at 50 degrees at the top forced us to pack and carry long sleeve jackets, head bands and arm warmers. Every ounce counts when climbing but without support vehicles (or roadside fans) what else could we do?

Setting a steady pace we rode in single file up the switchbacks. At every corner the views were spectacular. Craggy canyons, vistas of distant mountain ranges and the City of Tucson getting smaller and smaller, and lower and lower.



Each mile marker had one of us proudly yelling out the number and the other two responding with a loud, "Check!".

Water, always a priority in the desert, soon became an issue when we realized that none of the parking or picnic areas had any. Concern at mile marker 6; panic seeping in at mile marker 9. As the realization that lack of water would likely cause us to have to turn back the wheels in our minds began turning, matching our wheels on the road.

Just as all hope was fading Russ made the bold move to ask passersby for water. Jackpot! The group from Ontario, Canada that Russ approached had just purchased a case of bottled water. Wanting nothing but to help us they provided all the water we needed and refused to accept anything in return. After drinking our fill and topping off our bottles it was back up hill. We love Canada!

The beautiful scenery soon began to fade as our vision narrowed to focus on the effort of riding up a steep mountain for mile after mile. This is the kind of riding we don't have in the Midwest. And why we are here. What had been loud and proud proclamations at the lower mile markers were becoming strained acknowledgments by mile marker 16. The noting of mile marker 20 at 8,000 feet was barely audible.

During the ride we noticed how many of the locals turned around at the ranger station near marker 21. It made no sense to us until a half a mile beyond the station the road turned downhill for two miles before the last tortuous climb to the ski station at the summit. Apparently they had no interest in going downhill until the climbing was done. We had no choice but to continue on as our goal was the summit.

By now the extremely thin air had turned cold. The climbing, the low temperatures and the lack of oxygen began taking it's toll. Mostly on me it seemed. Russ and Darin just kept powering on as I began to fall off the back. After almost three hours of climbing the thin air had gotten the best of me and as I rode alongside Darin and Russ I gasped that I was turning back. In a tone I had no choice but to obey they told me that we were in this together and that all three of us were going to finish together. Fortunately, the flag of Mount Lemmon Ski Valley ski resort at an altitude of 9,000 feet was soon visible. With the finish in sight, and the three of us side by side, we were able to power into the parking lot 27 miles, 6,000 feet and almost three hours after we started.

After a short stop for pictures we donned cold weather gear and made the quick decent back to the car. Russ and Darin stopped along the way for pictures, as seen here. I just wanted to get back down into the thick and warm air.



What took almost three hours to go up took about an hour to go down.

We were glad the day was done...

The next day we understandably decided to take it a bit easier. Having dug as deep as we had going up Mt. Lemmon left us with little reserve. But still, the warm sunshine had us in very good spirits as we headed north out of Tucson in search of Saguaro National Park. This park is one of the rare ones that actually charges cyclists to enter. Russ showed them by taking his bike into the 'fobidden zone' near the bubblers. As seen here. Well, you'll just have to trust me that the little sign next to Russ says, "No Bicycles".



Into the park and we were treated once again with spectacular scenery filled with desert landscapes and mountain vistas. The trail wound around and mostly up and down so we attacked the ride like a Sunday stroll. Easy, slow and with stops along the way to enjoy the views.



From the park we cruised over to Davis-Montham Air Force base and watched the warthogs (that's the A-10 Thunderbolt jets for you civilian readers) come and go. Ater cleaning up we stopped by the putting/driving range to be impressed with Darin's Tiger-like skills. Even more frightening was what we saw pulling into the driveway. Today was garbage day and we saw what looked to be 10 or 12 wild pigs milling around the garbage cans. Coyotes? Yes, you might expect those in the deset southwest. Pumas? Maybe. Rattlesnakes? Possibly. But wild pigs? Turns out that these things are javelinas. Unrelated to pigs and according to Gene they're mean and nasty (someone should have told me this before I had gotten out of the car and approached the herd for pictures), and according to Sheila they can run at speeds up to 35 mph. We're not sure about the land speed of these things but they certainly took us by surprise.



In the trip planning stages we talked about all of the cool things that we could do and see in and around Tucson but by the time we did our ride, packed up our bikes, got home and showered, all we really wanted to do was get something to eat and listen to more of Gene and Sheila's hilarious stories. Gene and Sheila are much more entertaining than anything else in town anyway. So that's what we did.

By Wednesday the miles and elevation started taking their toll on our bodies. Since the wind was blowing at 30 mph and the forecast was for rain and possibly snow, we thought we might take at least a little time to see some sights. First stop, Pima Air Museum. Here we got to wander around and by over 275 aircraft, highlighted by an SR-71 spy plane and John F. Kennedy's Air Force One (see more here, here and here).



From the air museum we headed out to historic Tombstone, Arizona. When you step into Tombstone, you step back in time. Or something like that. We stopped by the spot that the Hatfields and McCoys, oh wait, that was somewhere in Tennessee. This would be the Wyatt Earp bunch shooting it out with the Clanton gang at the O.K. Corral. Then we had lunch and bought some postcards to send home with the official Tombstone, AZ post mark. Too much wind and cold. No riding today. Rest day.

Thursday dawned bright and beautiful. Not unusual for these parts. We decided to head back into to Tucson to begin a ride up and over Gate's Pass again and then head south to see what we could find.



The miles rolled by as we pedaled down through one valley, up and over a pass and down into another valley. The sun was bright, the air was warm and our faces were smiling. This is why we came here. 68 miles rolled by before we knew it (Well, truth be told, the third time up Gate's Pass didn't exactly roll by. More of a painful grind. Fun nonetheless.). We also took two side trips; one up Sentinel Peak, better known locally as "A" Mountain, and one most of the way up to a research station. We were told emphatically that, "No bikes are allowed" on the premises and were forced to turn back short of the summit.

What should happen less than one mile from the car on our last ride? Our first flat tire of the trip. After almost 300 miles of cycling, 98 of those miles uphill, it was almost funny to have the first mechanical difficuty so close to home.

After the ride we went to our new favorite restaurant; Whataburger. And really, what a burger! Best hamburgers we've ever had. Maybe it was the caloric deficiency we were dealing with, maybe it was the beautiful sunset after a gloriously warm day, or maybe the burgers were just that good. Whatever, whataburger. These restaurants can only be found south of the Mason-Dixon line. If any of you dear readers have experience in franchising or the restaurant business let me suggest that you look into opening some of these in the midwest. Instant gold mine.

Friday was travel-home day. It was hard to say good-bye to Gene and Sheila. They had become more than just hosts, they had become our friends. They invited us back and I hope to take them up on it someday soon.

From there we dropped off our boxed up bikes at FedEx and stopped by the Phoenix home of some friends of Darin's for dinner. Then to the airport right on time only to find that our flight was going to be delayed at least five hours. Arghhh! It did give us some time to discuss any subjects that the three of us hadn't yet discussed on the trip. By now, nothing was taboo between the three of us. The good thing is, we were able to disagree on serious things without letting it affect our friendship. Not easy when the discussions include; politics, religion, money, sex and bike equipment.

My grandmother once told me to never travel with people that you don't love. As the trip began those echoing words filled me with a bit of concern as to how Darin, Russ and I would get along, what, with being in close proximity 24 hours a day for a week. Turns out grandma was right, I don't think it would have been the great trip it was if we didn't have at least some love for each other (you know, in a manly, heterosexual, don't touch me kind of way).

Seriously, I love you guys. Thanks for a great trip. Next year we go to Texas and The Boss joins us.

The end(s).



To view some fine images from the trip click HERE.