Keeping It Wheel

That’s right, Sunday April 11, is the Paris-Roubaix race. It’s one of the oldest road races in the world, started in 1896, and is known for its treacherous terrain, like the dozens of kilometers of cobblestones.  Known as “A Sunday in Hell” or “The Hell of the North,” this one-day race that is roughly 280 kilometers is always fun to watch. Riders get muddy and wreaked and make you marvel all the more at their athleticism. Steephill.tv has all the…

This weekend I did the East Bay Tweed Ride. I must admit, at first I was a little skeptical. There were a lot of people affecting English accents and saying things like, “Hello, dear sir!” and “Talk to your dashing neighbors.” But I got over it. Once a couple of my “dashing neighbors” pulled out a portable gin and tonic set, I knew it’d be fun. The outfits were hilarious and amazing — everything from big flowing skirts to tweed…

I just read this story in the Los Angeles Times about Abdul Hibib, a one-legged bike mechanic. His story is really interesting — he’s a man who has lived through a lot of war and has since dedicated his life to fixing bicycles. What strikes me about Hibib is that he seems to think about bikes and getting around a lot like we do here in the U.S., “With a bicycle, you don’t sit in traffic,” he says. I hear that.

Look at the weather forecast for the next four days–Spring has finally arrived. Add in day light savings’ longer days and you’ve got the perfect combo for bike riding. Now, after all those weeks of rain, the hills are green and flowers are everywhere. Sunset rides in shorts, night-time rides without a jacket–it’s weeks like this that living in the East Bay couldn’t be better.

Muddy chain rings, muddy cleats, muddy legs, muddy faces–basically muddy everything. That’s right, last Saturday was the East Bay’s annual mixed terrain alleycat. I went and checked out who was riding, the course and the prizes. It looked like a lot of tough competition. At one point, the guy who won King of the Mountain (which was the top of Tunnel Road) got off his bike and ran up the grassy hill carrying his bike on his shoulder to ensure…

Lately, I’ve been taking pictures of people posing with their bikes. These cyclists seem to put a lot of love and care into their pedaling machines—from the paint jobs, to quirky components to customization. I’m the same way about my vintage Mondonico, so can understand the lengths people go to in order to keep their bikes pretty. Here’s some of my recent photos. And beware, I’m hunting more of you down.