TheWashCycle

Book Review: Complete Bike Maintenace

I won't say I've read Complete Bike Maintenance by Fred Milson, because sitting down to read a maintenance book is weird. But I have cracked it open a few times to attempt some simple repairs.

This is pretty good repair book for someone like me, i.e. someone who isn't really interested in doing bike repairs. It has a lot of pictures which makes it pretty easy to follow - I have found my frustration level has never gone above a "huh?" which is well below the "Expletive" danger zone. It's also a great book for someone who's new to biking because it takes the time to teach you all the things that you are afraid to ask without looking stupid (like what kind of brakes do I have). In other words in never assumes that you know anything at all. Which can be nice.

It also includes sections on newer components like internal hub gearing, which has thrown me for a loop in the past - and caused at least one bike mechanic to declare defeat.

But it is mostly dedicated to simple repairs and maintenance. There are several times that the book directs you to a professional bike mechanic. For me, that is probably good advice. I have no business trying to true my wheel. So, this book teaches you how to be a competent bike owner, capable of changing a tire, rewrapping handlebar tape, or even replacing your casette; but it won't teach you how to build a wheel. It will not make you a bike mechanic, but it could easily save you the $22 cover price with a couple of prevented trips to the bike shop.

Tuesday Morning Commute - Distracting

Good morning

• Wait, you can turn a bike blog into a book deal?
• ECGA seeks to hire a Mid-Atlantic Regional Trail Coordinator.  Job description PDF here. Closing date: 5 pm, June 20, 2011.
• Another section of the Great Allegheny Passage from DC to Pittsburgh will open this Friday. "a new three-mile section of the trail along the Allegheny River [sic] will open to the public, connecting the trail's current northern terminus at McKeesport up to Homestead, Pa. This extension means that just a single mile of additional trail into Pittsburgh is needed to complete a grand 150-mile route through rural Pennsylvania." Update: It's actually the Monongahela River.
• Photos from the Clarendon Cup.
• The contractor who is building the 2201 Pershing Drive project (northwest corner of Pershing Dr & Arlington Blvd) will need to shut down the Arlington Blvd trail between Pershing Drive and 10th Street. The closure will begin tomorrow (June 14) and take effect for about four weeks while they reconstruct the right curb lane along Arlington Blvd. A pedestrian and bicyclist detour involving 10th Street, Barton Street and Pershing Drive has been signed. Access along Pershing drive to the Henry gate of Fort Myer will not be affected.
• Cyclist in NYC threatened with a ticket for riding while wearing a short skirt. Biking while sexy is not illegal.
• "The motorist's real enemy isn't simply the bicyclist, it's anyone and anything that gets in the way. It's pedestrians, it's joggers, it's people out walking dogs. And don't forget about buses, taxis stopping to pick up passengers, and of course, other drivers. It's even the police, and it's one of the few contexts when a lot of otherwise law-abiding citizens resent the presence of law enforcement officers."

Mark Cavendish, “Boy Racer"

By Chris G

Mark Cavendish, “Boy Racer:  My Journey to Tour de France Record-Breaker.”  VeloPress, paperback, $12.95.

From dead-last in his first race as a kid, to being dismissed as fat and one who would never make it in bike racing, Mark Cavendish is now arguably the fastest man on two wheels in the pro cycling scene today.  With 15 total stage wins at the Tour de France since 2008, the sprinter from the Isle of Man showed again this year’s that he’s a force to be reckoned with, even without his teammates leading him out at the final sprint.  How he got to where he is today is the topic of one of the latest picks from VeloPress, “Boy Racer: My Journey to Tour de France Record-Breaker (paperback, $12.95).  This book is essentially a reprint of an earlier version published in the UK, but it’s a great read for fans of pro cycling, amateur bike racers, and even just the casual observer.

Like many sports stars, I have found that people often love or hate Cavendish’s personality.  Of course, basing one’s opinion on a few short public interviews – most of which are taken moments after a monster effort at the end of some stage in the Tour de France or one of the other grand tours – is dangerous stuff, but happens all the same.  The point is, reading this book may change the minds of those who have previously had a low opinion of Cavendish.  At the very least, those detractors may appreciate how surprisingly self-confessional Cavendish is, even admitting at one point that he does sometimes come across as immature and that diplomacy is a skill he’s always working to cultivate.  It is a fact that very few cyclists are a success based solely on their own talent, and the team sport that is cycling depends on a group of individuals willing to give it all for the designated rider.  That Cavendish has nailed down at least part of this ability to match his natural talent is offered up with a quote from Kiwi cyclist Greg Henderson to Cavendish:  “The reason people will give everything for you, Cav, is that you don’t go around with your nose in the air.”

Organized around the 2009 Tour de France campaign, “Boy Racer” provides some great stories.  Cavendish not only supplies a kind of autobiography of his early years, but also gives the reader a glimpse into life on the Tour de France at a level very different from superstars like Lance Armstrong.  Cavendish is a sprinter, which means he’s unlikely to ever be a serious contender for the yellow jersey.  The reader, therefore, is given the excruciating detail of what it means to work at the back of the field just trying to hang on above the time cut-off; or taking on some mountain climbs that certainly do not favor the sprinters.  There’s a kind of wonderment, sincerity, and even naïveté to the writing, informed by the knowledge that nothing is ever given in sports or in life.

The book is full of contradiction, though I mean that in a positive way; because although we expect our public figures to be consistent, nobody really is.  In this instance, Cavendish is at once dismissive of sports psychology (“I’m blessed in that I’m not one of those athletes who’s ever been plagued by self-doubt”), and at the same time recognizes the value of motivational tools such as “bombarding me with adulation and flattery”; or better yet, telling him “Cav, old pal, you can try but I don’t think you’re going to make it.”  Above all, Cavendish unwittingly provides the reader not just some good story-telling, but some great motivational tools on how to succeed.  He tells us that “while it [is] essential to be self-critical, self-doubt [is] synonymous with self-poison.”  I’m betting I’m not the only one into amateur bike racing who finds this kind of thing personally inspirational.

Tour de Links - 234

Biking helps prevent premenopausal women from gaining weight, especially those who are already overweight.

"Women of normal body weight can certainly benefit from biking," she noted. "But specifically for overweight and obese premenopausal women, bicycling just two to three hours per week makes them 46 percent less likely to gain more than 5 percent of their initial body weight over the long run."

Some NYC garages are charging cyclists $200 a month to park their bike (well they would, but none will pay that). Via GGW.

A travel piece on biking around Manhattan. This is how I'll do it next time.

As we passed the curved glass of the Frank Gehry-designed IAC building and entered Hudson River Park, Alex noted that this used to be a "seedy landfill," not gardens overflowing with flowers and gazebos where you can rest in the shade.

Staring at a 1951 police cruiser in mint condition, I realized that this was one of those unique New York moments one stumbles upon in a city brimming with nonstop entertainment. As Greg noted, "We never would have found this unless we were biking."

If one doors a cyclist from a taxi, the taxi company's insurance doesn't pay.

iPhone app for Ride the City.

The US Bicycle Route System is making real progress.

Colorado cyclists protest the banning of bicycling in Black Hawk.

City officials say bicycles aren't prohibited; riders just have to dismount and walk

Some LA Critical Mass riders are trying to improve the rides by getting all cyclists to follow all laws.

A London article on bait bikes. I don't care for bike thieves, but leaving unlocked bikes as bait bikes does make me uncomfortable (though taking an unlocked bike is still stealing). Via GGW.

Adam Voiland has two posts on Lost Cyclist the story of Frank Lenz

If it wasn't the valuables from his bike his killers wanted, then it's possible he died simply because of the strangeness of his chosen mode of transportation. According to one account, the natives in the region were arguing about whether the interloper was a man or a devil.  To resolve the question, one of them shot him repeatedly to see if hew would die, and he did.

They should have weighed him to see if he weighed as much as a duck.

Author David Herlihy Reading and Book Signing

David Herlihy, author of Bicycle: a History, will be in Arlington for a reading and book signing of his latest book The Lost Cyclist.

Herlihy will be around to answer all of your historical bicycling questions, sign your books, and to tell you more about  Lenz and his adventures with a short reading. The League will provide the snacks and drinks (and books for purchase) — you just have to show up! The event is June 30, 2010 at Revolution Cycles in Arlington (2731 Wilson Boulevard). The reception starts at 6:30 p.m., and the reading will start at 7 p.m. Please join us! Revolution Cycles is easily accessible by bike or metro (Clarendon stop on the Orange line).

Tour de Links - Banned in Black Hawk

9-year old cyclist killed by Walt Disney World bus found to be at fault.

Frankly I come across so many "bike as getaway vehicle" stories that I hardly think them newsworthy anymore.

A Colorado town becomes the first place in the country to ban bicycling.

Black Hawk began enforcing its ordinance and issuing $68 tickets on June 5, five months after it passed the law requiring bicyclists to dismount and walk their two-wheelers through the town of about 100 residents. Black Hawk City Manager Michael Copp said eight citations have been issued so far.

Black Hawk's bicycle ban only applies to the narrow thoroughfares in town that are lined with historic buildings and newly built casinos, not the few residential streets. Bicyclists riding in on Colorado 279, a main route through the city, would have to dismount and walk about a quarter mile, Copp said.

A Tea Party leader compares the new DOT bike policy to the Killing Fields.

I swear to God he [Obama] wants to push bicycles as our means of transportation.  I lie not. So we can pedal around like we're in Beijing?  I swear to God it's like when Pol Pot depopulated ted the cities and killed everybody; Barack Obama wants to depopulate the countryside and make us all ride around on bicycles. I swear, it's the end of the era of motorized travel--to fight global warming!

San Diego woman injured in hit an run with cyclist.

Two drivers have been charged with felony vehicular manslaughter after one killed a pro cyclist after losing control of his car as part of a street race with the other.

At least we don't have to worry about being attacked by bears (though I did see one on the Allegheny Highlands Trail outside Frostburg once)

Crash at the end of the Tour de Suisse, Day 4. And Cycling's governing body will be checking bikes for motors placed in hidden compartments.

A new book covers the fascinating story of a young man who tried to bike around the world in 1892. The story covers his journey across two continents, his disappearance and the attempt to bring his killers to justice.

He received a hostile reception from some of the Chinese, who regarded him as a foreign devil on a hellish mechanical contrivance and would hurl rocks at him as he rode past.

Photo of a garbage can made from recycled bicycle parts by Cobalt123

Book Review by You: Boy Racer by Mark Cavendish

Update: Taken already.

Once again I am offering a free book to anyone who will read it and review it. Contact me at dcwashcycle@gmail.com. First come, first served.

Boy Racer: My Journey to Tour de France Record-Breaker by Mark Cavendish

Boulder, CO, USA - June 8, 2010 - Cycling super-sprinter Mark Cavendish explains his phenomenal rise to stardom in his new book, Boy Racer: My Journey to Tour de France Record-Breaker. Cav describes with riveting detail the sprint victories that propelled him into the highest ranks of the cycling elite. His first-person play-by-plays put readers wheel to wheel with the world's fastest cyclists. Boy Racer is now available in bookstores, bike shops, and online, just in time for him to take the starting line of the 2010 Tour de France.

Boy Racer is a page-turning journey of pure exhilaration-candid, opinionated, and scrupulously honest-chronicling Cavendish's rapid rise from local hero to National Champion to Tour de France stage winner. Along the way, Cavendish takes us behind the scenes of the Tour de France to unmask the intrigue, the mayhem, the hysteria, and the adrenaline-fueled, all-out chaos of professional cycling.

Written off as "fat" and "useless" in his youth, Cavendish has since sprinted to the front of the peloton to become cycling's brightest star-and its most outspoken. Cavendish tells how defying the naysayers fueled his early career on the road and the track and led him to ten Tour de France stage wins and overall victory at Milan-San Remo.

Vivid, unflinching, and brilliantly conveyed, Boy Racer sweeps readers into the swirl of the racer's world and delivers them to the finish line with an insider's view from the freshest eyes and most agile mind in bike racing.

Book Review: Come and Gone by Joe Parkin

Review by Kristopher Larson

As a relative new-comer to the bike genre, I'm fortunate to have read Joe Parkin's first book 'A Dog in a Hat' just a couple months ago. So the letdown I felt at the end of his five-year battle through the small town Belgium race scene was short lived. Reaching the end of 'A Dog in a Hat' I longed for the narrative to continue. Longed to hear of his time on the Coors Light team, his transition to mountain biking, and more of the stories and anecdotes of a working-man cyclist that made 'Dog' such a satisfying read. All hinted at near the end of the book, but left untold.

For those that have waited the two long years since 'Dog', rejoice. Your time waiting is over.

'Come and Gone' picks up where 'Dog in a Hat' left off. Joe has finished with his European career and is struggling to make a career in the US race culture. The training anecdotes are still there, from team training camps (complete with a pro’s introduction to LT thresholds) to off-season base work on the snow-covered trails of Minnesota. Present too are the detailed recitations of the strategies, personalities, and turn-by-turn vagaries of races across the US and, unlike in ‘Dog in a Hat’, they now bridge the disciplines of cycling (road, time-trial, criteriums, mountains, and cyclocross). And fortunately, some of the most interesting insights, the interplay between elite level athletes and teammates are included.

The greatest difference between ‘Come and Gone’ and ‘Dog in a Hat’, for those that seek the same magic, is the tone. Reading ‘Come and Gone’, it becomes abundantly clear that Parkin finds himself racing in America, but wishes he were still on the roads of Europe. There is a sadness that permeates ‘Come and Gone’, flavored with bitterness of widely varying degrees, that was missing from ‘Dog’. There are still episodes of pure joy, and rides of elation, but they are diluted by the slow end of his career.

‘Come and Gone’ is a superlative record of the mindset and career of a ‘blue-collar’ pro cyclist. Even as a dedicated fan of cycling, too much of my attention is given to the top-tier cyclists, those whom end their careers as legends or at least with names that carry beyond the small world of cycling. ‘Come and Gone’ shows what it is to be at the end of the typical career, trying everything possible to keep racing and extend the great ride, even if it means jumping from the road to the trail.

In combination with ‘Dog in a Hat’, ‘Come and Gone’ forms the bookends of a cycling shelf. If you’ve read the first, and were left waiting mid-career, ‘Come and Gone’ is the perfect bittersweet finish. If you’ve yet to read ‘Dog’, don’t jump into this book. Neither ‘Come and Gone’ nor ‘Dog in a Hat’ should exist in the absence of the other. Together they are the perfect cycling memoir.

Bike Items That Have Little to Nothing to do with DC

Two polls agree, bike paths are a low priority.

respondents to the T4 America poll listed roads second to rail as being neglected in federal spending -- and they put sidewalks and bike paths last. Similarly, roughly 80 percent of respondents to the Highway Users' poll considered bike and pedestrian paths a local government responsibility

USA Today's headline misses the mark

Obama official says bike paths should be treated like roads

Obama official? USA Today readers can't be bothered to know who the Secretary of Transportation is? Anyway, that isn't really what he said. This is:

The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. ... transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobucher is a serious cyclist.

At Yale she continued to indulge a passion for cycling. And not just bike riding. For Amy that meant long treks through Russia and Slovenia. When she was a junior, she did 1,100 miles (100 miles a day) with her father, from Minneapolis to the Grand Tetons.

Prisoners are made to pedal to watch TV. Man, would I be skinny.

NYC pays $98,000 to settle cases stemming from Critical Mass harassment. 

Bike Snob reveals name to promote book.

Speaking of books, this new one has a section entitled "Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist." You'd think you'd at least get an autographed copy or something...

SECDOT defends his statement about bikeable communities

many communities want the opportunity on the weekends and during the week to have the chance to bike to work, to bike to the store, to spend time with their family on a bike.

FTA awarded transit grants to several NPS properties a couple even included bike elements

Golden Gate National Recreation Area will use the funds for improvements to Marin Headlands and Fort Baker bus stops, such as shelters, schedule and route displays, curb or paving improvements to support transit access and boarding, and bike racks or other multi-modal support facilities as necessary.

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge will use the funds to complete construction of a bike/pedestrian trail connecting Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge’s Prairie Visitor & Learning Center with the Plainsmen Trail in Prairie City, Iowa.

Review a Book

From time to time I get an opportunity to review a book, but I rarely have time to read them. If you would like to review the following book, let me know via email (dcwashcycle@gmail.com). If you review it, you can keep it.

Come and Gone Chronicles the Rebirth of Pro Bike Racing in America

Joe Parkin's New Book Is the Sequel to His Highly Praised Memoir, A Dog in a Hat

Boulder, CO, USA - April 8, 2010 - After a grueling five-year education in bike racing (A Dog in a Hat), Joe Parkin describes his return to the U.S., his struggles with the nascent American bike racing scene, and the birth of mountain bike racing. Parkin's new book Come and Gone is the sequel to his widely praised memoir A Dog in a Hat. Come and Gone is now available in bookstores, bike shops, and online.

After five years of racing in Belgium, Joe Parkin said goodbye to Flanders knowing he might never go back. He never did. Parkin flew back to the U.S. with empty pockets and no contract. For several years, he was unable to watch a Belgian spring classic without tears in his eyes, and seeing his former teammates race the 1992 Tour de France was torture.

Eventually, Joe landed a spot with the Coors Light cycling team. After the years in Europe, though, racing in the U.S. was too strange a transition. That's when Joe started racing mountain bikes.

Come and Gone follows Joe through three hardscrabble seasons chasing wins on the U.S. road racing circuit before he changes course and tastes victory as a mountain bike pro. A gritty, authentic, and heartfelt personal memoir, Come and Gone is also a chronicle of the rebirth of professional bike racing in America.

"Parkin shows you life on the edge of the peloton. We know the great champions' stories, but Parkin's experience is far more illustrative of what a 'pro cyclist' really is." - PodiumCafe.com

"Have a seat in the middle of the peloton ... See what Joe sees, breathe what he smells ... Struggle with him as he strives to get out in front of it all. Parkin's words weave a colorful tapestry about living life on the bicycle racing circuit ... Yet that tapestry is soiled and tattered because of the true cutthroat nature of bicycle racing and the absolute grit in the stories Joe relives for us." - Dirt Rag magazine

"There's something very approachable about the underdog, the guy who works as hard as anyone, but never achieves the stardom we all chase. Joe's candor is refreshing to read and entertaining as hell." - PezCycling News

Joe Parkin's life has not been without adventure. He has been a professional cyclist, stunt pilot, motorcycle racer, and sharpshooter. He represented the United States at the World Cycling Championships and the World Cyclocross Championships. Parkin is the editor of BIKE magazine, blogs at 6YearsInARainCape.com, and contributed to Versus.com