Ever lose your water bottle on the trail, only to notice at the end of your ride? Well, with our super-cool biodegradable shop bottles, your earth-concious mind can be at ease, because within 2-5 years it will be nothing but humus (the dark organic material in soils) and methane.
Don’t worry about it biodegrading in your cupboard or in your water bottle cage – the bottle will not decompose until it is exposed to a microbe rich environment like the forest, side of the road, or the dump.
Check out these other earth & people – friendly features!
On a ride the other day, I noticed what appeared to be a human-sized birdhouse in the middle of a big field. My ever-astute comrade Mary reminded me that it is, in fact, hunting season. Aware as one may be that helmets can stop bullets in their tracks, there are a lot of soft fleshy parts of me that aren’t covered by styrofoam and plastic, especially when dirt-road riding in my Halloween costume:
In an ongoing effort to keep you safer than I keep myself, I would have the following suggestions if you’ll be riding in deer-costume-wearing-human-hostile territory (farmlands, woods, and Latvian deer hatcheries):
Wear bright colors. Orange is typical for hunting season, but all fluorescent colorways should bode well for you.
Use noise-makers. A small bell zip-tied under your saddle can do the trick without being too obnoxious for the rider.
Ride in the day-time. Dusk, dark, and dawn are bad, but better with lights, bright colors, and noise.
Don’t wear a deer costume. Just don’t do it. I thought it would be ironic, but you don’t want to be like me.
I think that’s it. If you come up with other ideas, well, try them out and see how they work. Remember, if you have any doubts about the safety of your cycling equipment, you can always consult the following visual aid:
I should rephrase that. “Another one of those [beautiful, gorgeous, autumnal November] days…” How lucky have we been? If my memory serves me, last year about this time we were already under a couple inches of snow; I’d take ten days straight off the cassette jacket of When Harry Met Sally with no end in sight over that any day of the year, Billy Crystal and all. I hope you haven’t put away your dog-powered scooters for the year and are out tearing up some paved metropark trail.
The real point of this post is to get some feedback as best as I can, short of a wicker “Suggestions” basket on the front counter next to Dennis’ empty cup of coffee from two days ago. There are two big things I want to ask people about: (1) Southeast Michigan cyclocross and (2) group rides. So let’s go item by item.
(1) Southest Michigan cyclocross
People always talk throughout cyclocross season about how it isn’t growing as rapidly as it did in the past nor in other parts of the country. Boulder, Portland, Seattle, Boston, and other meccas seem to have better luck drawing numbers of competitors, recreational participants, and debaucherous hordes of observers than do we. (This was just in Velo News.) Theories abound in forums and dialogues around the area, and we’ve all got our ideas, but I want to hear from some people directly:
TO THOSE WHO RODE THIS YEAR: Why’d you do it? Will you do it again? What did you love and hate about the races? How did you find out about it? Was it cool enough? Professional enough? Fun enough?
TO THOSE WHO DIDN’T RIDE THIS YEAR: Why not? Too expensive? Not silly enough? Not hip? Not fast? Not fun? What could we do differently to have you come next time?
TO EVERYONE: What could we do to make the events themselves more fun to watch?
So publish some comments, send me an e-mail, write us a letter, phone us, do whatever! Or just chew on that gristle for a while and form well-articulated suggestions to bigger honchos than yours truly. Either way, I’m looking forward to the cyclocross scene getting bigger faster than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding career.
(2) Group Rides
They’ve come and gone, like a tide pool. But they don’t have to! Fall is a season of incredibly attractive riding (especially on dirt roads) as well as a great time for indulging in toasty roasty dark brews. And yesterday’s dirt road ride with Mary got me thinking: I want to do a group ride on Thursdays, on dirt roads, through the fall and winter, rain or shine, and end up at a bar during happy hour. The key is that for it to be a group ride, it ostensibly must consist of a group. So here’s a poll. You can take it. Or not! Just want to see if there’s interest.
I think that’s just about it for now. Thanks to all of you who came out to the Nightmare Before Crossmas race a couple weekends ago! We raised a bunch of money for Ozone House, got to see bedazzled racers and riders shred some serious turf, and had a great time doing it! Check out some photos of the event here if you like. We’ll see you all again for the same great times next year. (And, with any luck, it’ll be a bit nicer out.)
Ciao for now! TTYL ROFL HAHA LOLZ!
Sam.
P.S. Really, do get in touch with me! Love to hear from you.
So, if it just so happens that you binged on High School Musical movies and/or television series yesterday, you now have justification. Go forth and validate yourself and your guilty pleasures*!
*If your guilty pleasures include watching tennis, Martina Navratilova was also born On This Day in History. High five, Martina, because you are awesome.
Secondly, it was the day after the FIRST EVER CYCLOCROSS RACE IN DETROIT, the Mad Anthony CX Race at Fort Wayne! Jess was on location as a racer, spectator, and new visitor to the historic Fort Wayne, and said it was really super cool. (It might make things cooler that she finished 2nd in the Elite Women category! HOLY SMOKES WTG JESS!) Check out this awesome video found on the Mad Anthony blog:
Several customers also have come in lauding the environs and the course at Fort Wayne. Here’s hoping they had enough of a turn-out to consider it again next year!
As a side note, if you’re considering sitting out for the Halloween CX charity race put on by Two Wheel Tango!!!!!!!!!!! because it would be in costume, know that some folks out there ride non-costumed races in fanciful get-ups of their own free will.
Drew Barrymore's long lost roller derby teammate?
To round off the cyclocross-filled weekend, we had a beautiful day for racing on Sunday at the Tailwind series race at the Lower Huron Metropark in Belleville. Mary and I were able to sneak out before work to catch the early races and shmooze with the CXers a bit. The weather was perfect — compared to some of the stuff you see in Portland and Seattle, the conditions for ‘cross in Michigan are laughably mild… Shin-deep mud bogs versus verdant greenery. BIG DIFFERENCE! But still great. It was a shame not to have participated ourselves, though. I swear, it’ll happen! This is the whole gallery from my camera, and there are bunch of others out there to peruse. But here are some select images for your blogging pleasure:
Ryan: U R TEH ROXORZX! KBAI.
Jason in the lead at the barrier-run up sequence.
Little CXer-itos. Very cute.
So there’s that.
The race having been cut short by necessity (O! Employ, why doth you wrong me so?), within the first couple hours a customer brings in an AMAZING piece of two-wheeled craftsmanship – a 1985 Bob Jackson handbuilt frame with mint-condition 1974 Campagnolo Nuovo Record off of an old Schwinn Paramount.
The hand-painted Bob Jackson head badge... Drooool...
Travel with me, if you well, down a road of bike nerd-dom with the following explanatory links: Bob Jackson and Schwinn Paramount at Classic Rendezvous, and some very detailed info about the Nuovo Record rear derailleur at Disraeli Gears. What it boils down to is that the bike was a top-of-the-line, precision-built machine given all the care that one person’s lifetime of knowledge and skill can muster, with the engineering of and Italian company that was developing componentry well ahead of its time. If you want to chat about cool old bike stuff, there are plenty of us here that would love to name-drop and shmooze until the cows come home, namely Dennis. And me and Jerry.
Thanks, Mark, for bringing your bike in! I hope you get a chance to check out these pictures, and you’re always welcome to bring it back in!
There’s also a nice old Schwinn Paramount hanging around at Packard. I’ll have to snap some shots of that one, too…
Sundays are great. Mondays are slow. Come in and say hi to me! Or any of us. And we’ll keep doing what we do. And it’ll be great.
Last weekend, Monroe played host to the one and only night race of this year’s Tailwind cyclocross race series.
First, let me set the scene…
We weren’t expecting rain, and yet it rained. We weren’t planning for November temperatures, and yet cold it was. And still, the racers came to race. The Munson Park course was a tight, fast one. Sharp turns, shallow run-ups and well-spaced hurdles made for fine riding, not to mention the spongey ground turf thanks to the rain. Everyone, whether a first-timer or seasoned racer, was flying! Very cool to experience.
In any event, it was great. But let’s cut to the chase with some pictures. (For the entirety of my mediocre album you can check out the Picasa album. For nicer, studio-quality race pictures, check out the ones taken by the professionals.)
Does the Walkman indicate Sony sponsorship?
Ken was up against some pretty fast riders in the Masters race.
Way to go, Jess!
I can’t format these to make them more awesome. But that’s that. Okay, bye for now! [Update: I think I did it better!]
(1) I’ve been distracted and lazy. And thinking about cyclocross, which is the best thing ever invented since sliced bread. My thinking-about-cyclocross fitness level is totally prepared for the Elite Men’s thinking-about-cyclocross races this season. But I digress; the blog must be resuscitated. So here it is! Back and better than ever. Maybe even a revamped and updated layout! That might be overly ambitious.
(2a) On the subject of cyclocross, there’s a whole crazy ton of races coming up. Holy cow! Tomorrow (Rocktober Third) is the Munson Park CX ride – part of the Tailwind race series – as well as the Kisscross series race in Grand Rapids. This is a prime month for earlier CX races, so get your rear in [cyclocross-appropriate] gear [ratio]!
(2b) OMG Get ready to have the BEST TIME EVER! GUARANTEED. YES! On Rocktober Thirty-First, All Hallows’ Eve, there’s going to be the AWESOMEST of ‘cross races ever. We’ve got a whole docket of races (Bs, Cs, Masters, Elite, etc.) in the ante meridiem, followed by the Nightmare Before Crossmas CharityRace!
OMG YES!
It’s going to be great. What’s it all about, you ask? Well, here’s the breakdown.
Where? Vet’s Park on Maple Road between Jackson and Dexter Roads.
When? 2:30 post meridiem, after the earlier Tailwind series races.
Why? To give money to charities, to have fun, to ride around in costume, and to win a SyCip frameset, w00t!
Whoa, really? Yeah!
How much? Five simoleons.
Costumes, for real? Yeah. Costumes rock. And FACT: you’ve got to wear one.
What’s with the SyCip? You get a raffle ticket just by entering the race. The frameset is the grand prize.
(3) I am famous. Really. I was in a Ford Flex print ad photo shoot this week on Main Street. It was totally cool. The car was shiny and new. Technology is so cool! They had this crazy contraption sticking out of the front of the car to hold a camera steady while moving really slowly and taking pictures with a super long exposure time. The car would stay crisply in focus while the nearby background blurred, so it looked as though it had gone the plaid.
(4) The new Jolly Pumpkin restaurant is great. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend it.
(5) I had a strange bike dream last night. I was in the bleachers of a baseball diamond with a good friend of mine and two guys that I knew in high school. It was after dark. One of the long lost high school classmates handed me this bent Mavic CXP33 rim. I asked him what he did and he said nothing. The person next to me said he had been practicing his skeet shooting with them. I said for rlz?! And the guy shrugged and handed me a handful of more destroyed CXP33 rims.
Then I woke up.
What the heck does that mean? Probably that I’ve been thinking about bike parts too much. At least I didn’t have a dream of building a Rube Goldberg machine made with all vintage Campagnolo components. That would be meticulous and thrilling.
(6) Expect more pictures in the near future. We’ve got some photoging to do!
We all love this bike! It may be a staff favorite. When my nephew turned two this winter, I had to get him one. After a couple months of practice, he’s become a little speed dæmon. He will ride for miles* or until the supervisory adult gets dizzy from walking around the block so many times. His balance skills are amazing–once he gets some speed going, he’ll lift up his feet and coast for a ways. It is one of the cutest things ever!
*He is, after all, two. “Miles” might be a little generous.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept, this is a pedal-less youth bike. The one in the movie is the Specialized Hotwalk. As long as a child can walk, they can ride this bike! This has been a popular option in Europe for years, and it has been gaining popularity in the US. The idea is that the child learns to balance and steer before learning to pedal. Typically, by the time the child outgrows the balance bike, they can skip training wheels. It’s pretty cool! We’ve had so many parents gush about this bike the last couple of years.
If you want to see how cute it is, check out the video. And if you want to see how cute my nephew is, watch till the very end.
Not to be confused with the three previous installments of mad neck rashes.
Anyone see it? Good stage! Excitement, adventure, intrigue, intrateam dramatics; so much fun. The BikeRadar folks pegged it right when they compared the latest stage fireworks to the Hinault-Lemond hissy fit. And with possible double agents, friendships on the line, and fame and fortune all at risk, it sounds like Breaking Away meets The Notebook meets The Godfather III. Too much for one man’s heart to handle. But now I have a new queue for Netflix. Oooh, and Mad Neck Rash I-IV.
I want to write a “welcome-back-me!” message like the teaser lines on the back of a Terminator sequel. Probably Terminator 3. The best Terminator movie EVER. Let’s see what seedlings IMDB contributors can plant, only to be nourished the creative fertilizers of yours truly. Ahem…
“On the verge of Judgment Day, the most advanced Terminator unit ever, the T-X, arrives from the future to ensure the rise of the machines. The only hope against it is a new upgraded T-800 unit, the T-850, that is sent back by the human resistance. Together with John Connor, it must stop the rise of the machines or all humanity will fall. Written by Paul McLaughlin”
Good, yes? WTG Paul! All right. Now it’s my turn in the limelight:
“On the verge of [the day after Independence Day (not the other great sci-fi flick with Bill Pullman as the quirky and lovable President and Will Smith as his capable alien assassin… Good movie too, though)], the most advanced Terminator unit ever, the T-X, arrives from [Albuquerque] to ensure the rise of the machines [and the downfall of the Two Wheel Tango Blog’s Internet presence. And the end of humankind]. The only hope against it is a new upgraded T-800 unit, the [Sam T-850], that is sent back by the [management]. Together with John Connor [played at various points by Donnie and/or Heather],it must stop the rise of the machines or all humanity will fall. Written by Paul McLaughlin[and Sam]“
YESS!! I think that will do. And Donnie and/or Heather are the collective key to the salvation of the human race. But we at Two Wheel Tango already knew that. Duh. That’s why we hired them. So when the machines rise against us, we’ll be okay. Thanks, Donnie.
Enough about Terminator flicks.
What’s new, y’all?
There are some cool things out there to be paying attention to. One of those things is proper grammar. Don’t end your sentences with prepositions. What do YOU think about this rule? I’m not a fundamentalist grammarian, but I like to keep my transgressions in check. *Now it’s time for some unsubstantiated factoids.* Did you know that the rule stems (most likely) from a conflict between Latin and English grammar schools? A little Latin infusion was the key to dignifying our coarse, unrefined language. The only problem is that the rule can’t really be broken in Latin; as far as I know, the preposition and verb become one word as opposed to two independent words, so the order is irrelevant. Thus, we English speakers needed this to codify this syntax in a way that would keep us Latin-esque.
We made it into two blogs recently! In the span of two days, we had three riders come through Ann Arbor on their respective cross-country voyages, stirring up my nostalgia stew: Two women from Massachusetts heading out to Stimson Beach, California gave Al a five-star rating for his wheel-building and mechanical prowess, and a gent from NYC heading to Seattle. (If that link gets you to some wacky page, check out his days 13 and 14 for tales of yours truly and the wonderful world of TWT.) Stephen “Fletch” Fletcher even crashed at Chez Lester for a night, after being hosted the night before by several lovely Tanglers. They were all really cool and inspiring. Doing great things, too. Boy, touring is fun. I RECOMMEND IT. If you want to talk about it ever, hunt me down and find me and pick my brain. I will love it and you.
That's us. You go, Fletch.
Blogroll Check-Ins 2 & 3: Just in case you missed them, here and here.
Other cool thing: THE NEW GLOBE. Oh… I’m sorry… What’s that? You haven’t heard? Globe is the coolest thing since Liberace? Oh, yeah, that’s right, it is. KNOW THIS. For 2010, the Specialized Globe may finally be its own brand, with its own design team, marketing budget, and chic urban vibe. There have been reports of sightings on the Internet for a couple months now. For one, we’ve got this little expo from the folks at Momentum, a really neat, hip, crafty bike mag. The Globe Roll, the fixie that has all the bike polo players in town talking, has a nice feature at Urban Velo. And no, it’s not a ghost bike. It’s a real bike. And sometime after the release of the Globe Live there should be a bike joust over a flaming bed of coals with dragons in the background between the Live and the Gary Fisher Simple City.
Did you manage to click each and every one of those links? If so, you deserve a treat. Here it is! (Note: The following video will only appear if you clicked all the links.) (Note: That was a lie. This video is for everyone.)
Rock and roll!
Okay, I have to get back to work. Kind of. Well, I’ve been working on this all day at work, while working, and now work is almost over. Last push! Sprint to the finish! NOT THIS TIME, CAVENDISH!
But, in that vein, let me leave you with the products of my latest mental activity: Anagrams of the stage winners of the Tour.
Stage 1: Fabian Cancellara – a banana calf relic
Stage 2: Mark Cavendish – ah… smack-driven.
With that, I bid you all ado. Enjoy the Tour!
Much love,
Sam
P.S. Shout-outs to Heather’s mom (if you still read this) and Mary L. Boochabla!
This from Cumberland, Maryland. We’ve made it here from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania over the course of about three days. It has been great!
So, the Allegheny Trail portion of our ride is complete. I’ll provide you with some highlights until I fully document the adventure.
No flat tires yet! It’s a good thing.
It’s mostly retirees. If you’re under 60, chances are you’re in the minority.
There are small little towns peppered everywhere. Many of them have houses with beautiful gardens.
I brought three extra saddles. Comfy Specialized ones. Other peeps riding with me are pretty glad.
I’ve only dirtied one (1) shirt and (1) pair of underwear. My spandex is working its way toward Day Four!
Use knobby tires. There will be times that it’s overkill. But mostly it’s a good thing.
Bring T.P. ‘Nuff said.
Like I say, highlights! It’s a teaser post. I just don’t have any time right now to be doing this. Got to go eat dinner. Find some vegan fare somewhere. Wish me luck!
Ever lose your water bottle on the trail, only to notice at the end of your ride? Well, with our super-cool biodegradable shop bottles, your earth-concious mind can be at ease, because within 2-5 years it will be nothing but humus (the dark organic material in soils) and methane.
Two Wheel Tango 
