Thursday, October 31, 2013

Riding a Bicycle

This is a post I put on my personal blog about a month ago.  Why I didn't simultaneously post it here, I don't know.  In any case, here are some thoughts about why I ride.

I recently had a discussion with some friends about why we ride bikes.  The answers were typical for persons in their mid-thirties to mid-forties:  it keeps us healthier than we would otherwise be, we like the competitive aspects, we enjoy the camaraderie of racing and the community bikers we see around, etc.  As I thought about it a little more though, I realized that I ride my bike because it puts me in the world in a way that a car cannot.

The immediate trigger for this line of thought was commuting to work on a bicycle.  I enjoy my commute for many reasons.  I love the way the air feels early in the morning.  I love ticking out a rhythm on my ride in to work.  The cadence of my pedaling can almost be musical, unifying mind and body.  I enjoy looking around at the buildings and houses I pass, the people waiting for the bus, the athletes practicing on the fields.  I cannot tell you how sublime it feels when I find myself riding along the lake front on one of those perfect days when the breeze pushes gently off the lake, driving away the summer heat, and the light causes the water to turn a mesmerizing cerulean hue.

I could go on and on about all the things I enjoy when I am commuting by bicycle; however, I realized that what drives all of these things, what makes commuting by bicycle different than commuting in a car or riding a bus, is that cycling puts you in the world.  You are present in your community and almost by default have to engage it.  When I come to a stop light and put my foot down while I wait for the light to change, I hear the people at the bus stop talking.  I hear and feel the vibrations of the car engine next to me.  I smell the exhaust.  I look around and see what is there, my surroundings.  Of course I am focused on the road, but I am also focused on the buildings and the people and the horizon, the clouds in the sky, the wind, the heat (or cold).  I ride by a high school and see the boys preening for the girls and the girls laughing.  I see a group of men under an awning awaiting the bus, commiserating.  I see the city workers painting the lines.  I hear the train rumble on the tracks as I cross one of the bridges and marvel that the cars seem to go on to infinity.

I tell pedestrians that I am passing on their left and they often acknowledge me and say 'thanks.'  I always reply, 'you're welcome.'  I meet other cyclists and sometimes we ride for a while together, chatting.  I see many of the same riders passing me each morning and enjoy the sense of familiarity that this engenders.  I see mothers running behind jog strollers containing their smiling or nodding toddlers.  I see a father riding with his young daughter who pedals furiously to keep up.  I see the young men and women at the Urban Ecology Center planting and clearing and making the river beautiful again.  I pass walkers and runners and old women in scooters.  Often we look at each other and smile or wave or say 'hello.'

I am in the world when I am on my bike.  I hear the city and feel the city and smell the city and see the city in all of its brilliance and ugliness and the in between.  The meat packing plant sometimes burns my nose with the ammoniac reek.  I pass through places with torn sleeping bags and shredded cardboard that were somebody's home.  I see placarded houses and empty storefronts.  I see and feel and hear and smell everything.  The lovely addition to our art museum with its brise soleil unfurled fills me with wonder.  The fox crossing the bike path puts a smile on my face.  The neighborhoods with old trees canopied over the streets and the families in front yards kicking a ball or riding bikes or chasing around fill me with hope. All of this is my city and I love being part of it.

When I ride I engage my surroundings.  I am not averse to automobiles and like taking road trips, but in the city you miss so much when you drive.  The radio is on or the air conditioner is on and the windows are shut and you look at the road and listen to the news or the music and pay little attention to anything not on the road.  Sure, we all look around, but cars move fast and before you have time to think about what you see (and usually it is just see) you are already gone.  On a bike I move slow enough to think about what I am experiencing, to pay attention to the world around me.  While I move faster than a pedestrian, I am still slow enough to notice the world and pay attention to it.  And I am able to cover much more ground than I could walking.

It is lovely to ride and feel and hear and smell and see the place where you live.  It is lovely to be on a bicycle riding.  That is why I ride.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Hallow's Cross

What an excellent day for Halloween Cross! The wind was strong, the temperature just right, and the crowd fantastic. How could I leave after the Women's races when there was Bat Girl (aka D. Blomme), a silver Musketeer (aka G. Ferg), and plenty of other teammates to heckle, I mean cheer on? Nice job to everyone out there today!

Amanda

Hallow's Cross

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Thursday, October 17, 2013

CX in Zion National Park?

Talk about your forced dismount! Do you throw the bike down and then rappel? Or rappel with the bike? Or get a teammate to throw the bike once you get down?

Seriously, Jan (aka my beloved) and I just got back from a trip with Trek Travel thru Bryce and Zion. Great trip. Great bikes! And on one of the riding-optional days a group of us did some canyoneering - where these pics were taken. Very fun

Jim Merrifield

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

CX in TX

Photo courtesy Monskat


October is here which means I could finally get back in the saddle for cyclocross racing. Although many of my teammates are already deep into cyclocross season in Wisconsin, the race series in Texas just kicked off last weekend.

Upon moving down to Austin, TX I didn't know what to expect in the race circuit. I moved in the middle of road season in Wisconsin, which means most of the racing is already wrapped up in Texas due to the hot temperatures. Although my road race season was pretty non-existent due to the move, I've been able to put in a lot of training miles on my Madone. Exploring a new area by bicycle is the best way to truly experience your surroundings. I was surprised by the many beautiful routes I can quickly access from my front door. Every ride also starts with great coffee and perfect breakfast tacos which are in abundance down here. If you didn't think of Austin as a riding destination before, you should definitely consider it for some warm weather winter training.

Needless to say, I was happy to be riding, but eager to get back to racing. After what seemed like a long time searching, I found out that cyclocross is actually pretty healthily supported down here. There is a popular race series, W.N.X (Wednesday Night Cyclocross) on, you guessed it, every Wednesday night in October and November near Dallas and a full weekend series October through December all throughout the state. Texas is big, so in order to accommodate people traveling far to the races, they run the full race schedule both Saturday and Sunday.

This weekend's race was in San Antonio. I packed up my Ion Pro, pulled out my brand new, unused Trek Midwest Team skin suit and drove the 1.5 hours to San Antonio. I didn't know what a cyclocross race in Texas would entail. First off, we don't get much rain here and did I mention it is really hot? I mean REALLY hot. The course in San Antonio was the longest CX loop I've ever raced. It included two double barrier sections on opposite ends of the course, a sandpit, what seemed like a thousand tight turns, plenty of stickers and prickers to puncture tires and a plethora of dust. The temperature was a toasty 95 degrees at race start.

I didn't have a strong start and was held up behind a group of riders as we headed into the first few turns and set of barriers. I was able to ride by the group on the first straight section and hold that position for the next two laps, staying on the rear wheel of first place. I took the lead heading into the bell lap, it was hard racing to maintain position and two of us had pulled away from the rest of the field. Into the last 1/4 of the final lap, I carried too much speed into a right hand corner and slid out on the dusty loose soil. I lost the leader and knew I wasn't going to get back to challenge at the line. I was able to clamor back onto my bike and now I was just hoping I could hold on and finish in second.

I completed my first Texas CX race with a second place finish and a huge smile. It sure feels good to be out representing Trek Midwest Team here in the Mid-South!

You can check out the Texas CX race series here:
http://texascx.com/schedule/

Monday, October 14, 2013

Podium for Amanda!

Looked like a good battle in the Women's Cat 4 race, with Amanda ending up on the podium in third.

Short video of the start, and first time through Pit 1.

Congrats!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcO9qOugQBU&feature=c4-overview&list=UUb5_mEBxCC0cHKPq9NQsPFA





Oh, and Barney ended up on the podium too, in 2nd place in the 55+ Cat 4 race - his first?!
Congrats!
No video though, sorry...

Finally got the monkey off my back!

for 2013
with a win at FurtherCross at Badger Prairie Park.
Fun, hard course. Lotsa lumber out there, fer sure.

short video of the Masters 45+ 123 race, with a lot of the 35+ and 55+ guys mixed in.
taken by Heidi, cheered on by Barney and David S (and daughter!)
with Mike M in the video too, and Eric K out there on the course as well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8-Ps3VlPaY&feature=c4-overview&list=UUb5_mEBxCC0cHKPq9NQsPFA

Nice work Rob!

Top step.
Great job!

Got some video of the beginning of the race, but not the finish or the podium shot...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRRLQK8TcXk&feature=c4-overview&list=UUb5_mEBxCC0cHKPq9NQsPFA

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Racing Down Under

It's spring in Australia and the racing bug has bitten me. I've decided to take out an Australian Cycling license and get back into the swing of things in my new home. Hopefully this is step one to a fun summer.


Todd