Grant Park Crit Pics

Glad to see the Georgia Crit Championships were raced intown at Grant Park.  The competition was fierce.  It seemed more competitive this year than in years past.

RIP Fignon

I became a cycling fan and a Tour de France fan because of Laurent Fignon.  It was the early 80’s and the local channel would broadcast the TDF highlights.  Fignon, Hinault, Lemond, the final TDF time trial where Lemond wins over Fignon by 8 seconds, and so on; it got me hooked and now I am a lifetime fan.

Forest Green Ford Ranger Pick-Up With Tinted Windows

Well it was bound to happen, after years of commuting on the city streets of Atlanta and its surrounding neighborhoods, I was finally hit by a vehicle.  I may sound philosophical about this; I always expected to get hit and I just hoped it wouldn't be bad.

And so it happened, as I was riding down Eastbound on Edgewood, I was making a left turn onto Euclid.  And yes, I used hand signals to go into the lefthand Eastbound lane and making the turn.  It is a 3-way intersection with curb islands in place.  I looked back and saw the pickup as I was making the left.  I passed one set of islands and on the next set, the pickup squeezed in, bumping me to my right.  I pulled me left hand off my brake hood so he/she wouldn't rip it off.  The driver kept driving off Eastbound, down the hill on Euclid.  Unfortunately, I could not get a license number.  But...

If you see a Forst Green Ford Ranger pick-up with tined windows including dents on the right side of their truck (probably from hitting other cyclists) and silver scrapes along the side (that's my handlebars), let me know about it.

This isn't going to stop me from riding, I really can't stop, it's my commute.  And comparitively, I got away pretty lucky.  I have heard of worse stories than mine.  I am a stereotype commuter with brakes and a backpack.  I ride safe and use hand signals, unfortunately this does not save me from being hit by a car.  This won't change the way I ride nor does it change my views on cars, bikes, sharing the road, bikes belong, respecting traffic (cras, trucks, pedestrians, and bikes), and so on.

I will continue to ride and ride safe.

Ride Bikes - Intro to commuting in Atlanta Ride

Found on the Faster Mustache Forum…

Ride Bikes - Intro to commuting in Atlanta Ride

Submitted by griggey on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 15:55

Let's show new commuters the ropes by hosting a bike ride to give them a tour of Atlanta. We'll end at a bar to get beer and hang out. I'll flyer GSU, but I need help flyering elsewhere (and at GSU if anyone can help). [flyer attached]

Time: 

08/31/2010 - 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Location: 

Woodruff Park

Discussion Topic: 

Welcome to ATL Bike Ride

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2010 Vuelta

Nighttime team time trial was super cool and a great start to the years last grand tour.

2010-2011 Georgia Cyclocross and Southeastern UCI Venues

Click here for the map.

posted by Bob Kuhn on Google Maps

Now that you know where the races will be, get the directions and race.  And here’s the schedule from Georgia Cross.

2010 Georgia Cross Series Schedule

1.      2-Oct-10   Rock Ranch

2.      10-Oct-10   Olmsted Park

3.      17-Oct-10   Monteluce Winery

4.      23-Oct-10   OSP

5.      24-Oct-10   OSP

6.      31-Oct-10   Life College

7.      7-Nov-10   Paulding Meadows

8.      14-Nov-10   Cloudland Canyon

9.      21-Nov-10   Fort Yargo

10.     28-Nov-10   Serenbe Inn and Com.

11.     5-Dec-10  Elks-Aidemore

Missing is PsychoCross at DLV and the Rome Winter CX Series.

Tour de Playgrounds, Sunday Aug 29th

This Sunday is the TDP which was postponed due to rain. Flyer swiped from here.

Cyclocross Bike Fit

Thought I would try some CX this year and found this article in VeloNews online.  I never knew how to size a CX bike, my last one was basically a glorified modified commuter that I took off-road.

VeloNews Training Center: How should a cyclocross bike fit?

By Sean Madsen, Boulder Center for Sports Medicine • Updated: Aug 26th 2010 8:11 AM EDT

Editor's note: This is the first of a new feature on VeloNews.com: VeloNews Training Center. Training Center columns and question-and-answer articles are being produced with the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, one of the nation's premier sports medicine centers, which works with many top cyclists, including Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara and Taylor Phinney.

Q: Dear VeloNews Training Center:

I've been racing road bikes for about three years now. With cyclocross season coming up, I am thinking of giving it a try and wanted to ask about fit. Some say that a cross bike should typically be slightly smaller than a road bike—I ride a 56cm road bike; does that mean I should be on a 54cm cross bike?

A: Cyclocross is a disciple of cycling that puts great demands on the rider and equipment. Proper bike positioning is crucial in allowing the rider to deliver the necessary power to the pedals and be able to handle the bike in the various terrain.

There are differences between a cyclocross position and a road position. Obviously the different conditions, surfaces, and duration of the race play a factor in the positioning, but also as important are the different shoes, pedals, and saddle choice.

Read on here.

Wednesday Morning Ride

Went out for a ride early this morning and it's a time when the die hards come out to exercise. Who comes out at 6am to run, ride, bootcamp, whatever? It's the die hards. I wake up with dread of getting up so early but by the time I am on the bike and riding with others, it's not so bad. It's actually a great feeling.
Then as we ride through the city, there were runners getting their runs in before it gets hot and humid. Bootcampers were training away on park lawns. And of course riders.
Here's an interesting observation, there are riders who are training/riding and then there are the commuters, even this early in the morning, whether going to school or work. Some have lights and some don't. Some even wear dark clothing without lights, very ninja-like as they go in and out of the shadows of the cityscape. I can say the same thing about runners, black is fashionable but it's hard to see you in traffic.
Grant it I understand if you can't buy a light; how about a flashlight, a reflective vest, anything reflective for that matter, wear a lighter color, anything.
I'd show a picture but basically it's just a dark square.
Ride On and Please Ride Safe.

Hipster Roadie

Thank Bike Snob and Bike Fag for the title of this blog.  They write great blogs so keep on reading them.  Hipster roadie is a good description.  I ride in and around Atlanta, all different types of bikes, goat, squid, whatever, it's just about riding bikes. Plus I wanted to have a place to follow other blogs easily.

Ride and ride more.