Boomers on Bicycles

Andy Schleck tour leader (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

The Tour de France hit day 12 today, and things are heating up. Literally. The Tour rode in 100 degree temperatures on the route yesterday and  today. Yesterdays stage was won by Sergio Paulinho of team Radio Shack. It was Paulinho’s first stage win in a Tour de France. Wednesday was also Bastille Day in France, but the the lone French rider in the breakaway just couldn’t quite keep up.

The ride yesterday featured a flat start that then went into the mountains. The last climb was a 5.3% grade, a catergory 2 climb. There were no serious disruptions today, as the peloton played it safe and let the breakaways stay out in front. There was no need for the peloton to catch anyone, as the standing weren’t likely to change unless there was a time consuming crash involving a lot of riders. There wasn’t, and the ride today, though hard fought at the end, was relatively uneventful.

Tuedays stage may have had something to with it, as it was a brutal day in the mountains, with the last climb being a long beyond category (HC) climb. The climb up was very difficult, and the descent was perilous as well.

Today’s stage 11 was won by HTC-Columbia’s Mark Cavendish, giving him 13 overall stage wins during his many Tours. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Columbia, Cavendish’s lead-out man, was disqualified from the tour. He had to bump Julian Dean out of the way as Dean leaned in on him, and then seemingly impeded Tyler Farrar as they headed for the line. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin’s comment on that was that it seemed a bit harsh, but perhaps was a warning to the rest of the riders to play nice. Saxobank’s Andy Schleck retains the yellow jersey as tour leader.

If you have been following the Tour, and wonder what it’s like to ride up a mountain, you’re likely not alone. Your immediate area may not have anything to test your climbing ability. Look around and find something relatively close by that has some decent climbs. Anywhere in the mountains, if you have them, could do just fine. Foothill areas ofter offer some decent climbs as well.

The easiest place to test your climbing legs is on any of the routes that have mostly uphill all the way, with a couple of not so steep sections and a couple of downhills after the top of some of the climbs.

Get your road bike ready, or rent one from your local bike shop. Head up to your chosen spot, then start looking for a place to park.

You will need enough water for the day. One bottle will not suffice. You will need something to eat along the way, just like the pros on the Tour. Sunscreen is a very good thing to slather on, as there is little or no shade along the way. Take an extra tube or two and a patch kit, along with a pump. Take your cell phone with you.

When you begin your ride, take it easy. Take a buddy or two with you to share the load. Riding it by yourself will put you in the same frame of mind as the lone breakaway rider on any stage of the tour. You really will be on your own. Ride at a steady pace, hydrating constantly along the way.

To really get the feel of what the boys on the Tour do, when you are a few hundred meters from the top of any climb, get off the saddle and start dancing on the pedals to pull yourself over the top. At the  last climb take a breath and enjoy the top.

What goes up must come down. Catch your breath, drink, and eat something. Take 10-15 minutes to catch your breath, then start riding. Any longer than 15 minutes and your legs may begin to cramp. The way back is probably a steady downhill with some climbs thrown in. Maybe there are even a couple of pretty good curves to negotiate.With luck, the  traffic will be  light. If you get into trouble, flag someone down. It’s a long walk back.

You may pick up a pretty good head of steam on some of the sections as you head back. Go only as fast as you are willing to fall. Road rash out there could be really, really ugly.

When you get back to your car, drink, and eat a bit more. You have just had a little bit of the experience of what some of the climbs on the Tour are. You and your buddies deserve a pat on the back. There’s no podium here, so that will have to do.

Stay tuned, as there are more mountains to climb, both on the Tour, and in your own back yard. Remember to get out there and ride.

The Missile, Mark Cavendish

The Tour ended its 6th stage today. Mark Cavendish took the finish yesterday and today, proving once again that being called the Missile is well deserved. It is truly amazing that after a 200 kilometers that these guys can still do an all out sprint for the 200 or so meters.

Let’s all agree that the pros, the young ones, can do this sort of thing, and we of the more mature persuasion, the Boomers, generally don’t. Can’t, actually if one is to be honest. So, what to do? Here’s something you can do to get a small taste of what it’s like.

First, use a road bike. If you don’t already have one, go to your local bike shop and rent one. Put your cushie tushies on, take at least two water bottles with you, slather on some sunscreen, and head either to your local bike trail, or ride out to a local route. Ride for two hours. If it’s an out and back, go out for an hour, turn around and head back. If you’re on a loop, do two hours on it. If it is generally a flat course, you’ll be riding on something similar to the first 3 stages of this years Tour. Ride by yourself and you’ll get a bit of a taste for what the boys in the breakaways get.

Ride with a group of friends, with everyone taking turns in the lead, and you’ll experience some drafting. You do have to stay close to the wheel in front, and be very alert while doing so. This gives you a small idea of what the peloton is all about. If you take your eyes off the wheel in front, or don’t pay attention, you’ll also experience what happens in those crashes in the tour. The first three days this year were a crash fest. Keep in mind that you don’t have either a team doctor, race doctor or team car to help you out. Pay attention, stay alert if you are behind the leader.

Now, this won’t turn you into a pro by any means, but it does give everyone a chance to get a small bit of experience of what the pros do, at 40+ mph, for 2+ hours. Not only that, but after you watch the tour, you’ll be out riding. Riding is better than watching, but doing both is just simply great. Ride on.

Stage 3 winner Thor Hushovd

The Tour launched on Saturday with a prologue in Holland, then moved into Belgium for Stage 1. It was a bit of a crash fest. Stage 2, Monday in Belgium, was ridden in the rain, with everything drying out in the later part of the stage. It was another crash fest, so much so that the peloton, having been bested by Sylvain Chavenal, who also took the yellow jersey for the next stage, rode en-masse across the finish line, in apparent protest of the route, the conditions, or both. This has been done only once before in the history of the Tour, and that time, in 1967, was in respect for a rider who died on the course. Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett, who along with Bob Role are the voices of the tour, pointed out that the route was known for a year, the teams had scouted out and probably ridden most of the route, and it was, after all, a bike race. Fabian Cancellera, who was wearing the yellow jersey at the time, clearly was in control of the peloton and it was he who apparently lead the peloton to cross the finish as a group. It was an interesting day on the Tour.

Today’s Stage 3 also had a batch of crashes, one of which took out Frank Schleck, who along with his brother Andy, rides for Saxobank. He took a hard spill on the cobblestones, and broke his collar bone. It is a definite blow to the team. Other riders crashed on the cobblestones as well. One stretch of the cobbles is part of the same section that is ridden in the Paris-Roubaix race. Inherent in any road race are crashes, and one of the dangers of being in the peloton is being involved in one. When riders go down in front, those following have to scramble to stay upright. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. The Tour is now in France for the rest of the race.

As of now, Fabian Cancellara is back in yellow as the Tour leader. Lance Armstrong, stung by a flat tire as he chased the lead group down, dropped to 18th, with Alberto Contrador in 9th place. So far, the Tour has been very interesting to watch and follow. Tomorrow’s stage 4 starts in Cambrai and finishes in Reims, home to many of the great champagne houses. It is a relatively short stage and should prove to be a fast paced ride. The entire tour will consume 2, 235 miles before it is over.

The pageantry, the team strategies, the individual efforts and challenges always make the tour a great spectacle to watch. Stay tuned.

Cycling fans have a busy summer coming up. This is the time for quite a few national road race championships and grand tours. For Boomers, it’s a great time to see how the less mature are carrying on. Here is an update on the Webcor Builders Womens Pro Team, and a bit of news from Lance Armstrong:

The Canadian National Championships, in Edmunton, Alberta, Canada, was a great race, especially at the end. With attacks, counter attacks, and several breakways, the womens teams  got it down to a 4 person lead out, which finally resulted in two of the women in a head-to-head sprint to the finish. Webcor took the win, with Canadian Joelle Numainville of Webcor standing at the top of the podium, as the Canadian National Champion. Webcor sent two of the team to the Canadian race, Joelle and Erinne Wilcox, both Canadians, and with a fine example of teamwork, took the win. Joelle put an all out 250 meter sprint to the finish to beat BC rider Allison Testeroete.

In Austria, Webcor rider Andrea Graus, after some flight delays, and much too long on a plane, reached Austria 2 days prior to the Austrian Road Championships. Andrea describes a difficult race: 2000 meters (6,000+ feet) in altitude differences over 3 laps of 38 km (22.8 miles) each. 1kilometer (.6 miles) before the finish featured a steep 500 meter (1500 feet) climb. Andrea put her head down, got a few extra turns on her pedals, and finished 2 seconds in front. Andrea rode with the Austrian Radteam NO.

Webcor now has two national womens road race champions riding for them. This is a team to watch. Go Green!

The big one, Le Tour, the Tour de France, starts in Belgium this Saturday. Lance Armstrong sent a tweet out yesterday. This, he says, is his last Tour. Armstrong is arguably one of the best known names on the Tour, and a 7 time winner of the Tour. He has quite a few other interests, is getting older, and maybe, just maybe, this will be his last ride in le Tour. Time will tell. His performance at this year’s tour will most likely be like his other Tours: ridden well, strategically on top of it, and with everything he and the Radio Shack team can put together.

If you spend a bit of time reading, or just looking at, the numerous  magazines about bicycling, a couple of things are likely to happen.

You might find yourself in I-Need-A-New-Bike land. Close to that is the state where you have convinced yourself that you need some new piece of equipment, say, a new helmet or backpack water bag, or an entire set of tools. Could be that your need for new cycling shorts or a great looking new jersey will take an upward spike too. It’s all there for you to look at and read about, in full color too. The national economy needs us to spend money. It’s how things work.

But, do you really need all that stuff to enjoy riding your bike? If what you have is worn out, broken, or really smells bad, maybe you do. I rather like cruising through whatever bike shop is at hand, just to look at all that really cool stuff in there. Sometimes I actually spend a few dollars, and on occasion, a lot of dollars. Sometimes, it’s actually something I need.

Most of us in Boomer status aren’t professional riders, road or mountain bike. We aren’t going to look like those young men and

Ride on.

women who are pro riders. After all, if you look at any pro peloton, it’s obvious that it’s impossible to come up with enough body fat in the whole group that can be measured in any meaningful way. Our need for bike stuff is quite different than the professional, or even semi-pro, group. How many category rated riders, who are in the Boomer years, are there, any way?

Why do we ride bikes? My guess, and it is a guess, is that we ride because we can, it’s fun, and mostly helps us stay healthy. Some of us ride to keep diabetes in check, or our blood pressure under control. Riding on a consistent basis helps control weight. Maybe we are cancer survivors and riding helped us re-gain the strength that chemo and radiation took from us. Keeping the good cholesterol from being overrun by the bad cholesterol is another reason. Maybe it’s just a great way to clear your head of all the chatter that spews about all day.

Mostly though, I think we ride because it is simply a great thing to do. Once you have the bike and helmet, it doesn’t cost much to get on your bike and start pedaling. Fixed budgets like low cost things. It’s a pretty good way to meet people too. Every other rider this rider has spoken to has been very pleasant, and generous with ideas and information. Trading info on what kind of bike you’re riding is a good way to find out the good and the bad about other brands. If you are stopped by the side of the trail or road, most bike riders will stop to see if you are ok. While on a recent ride with my friend Ed, we came upon two riders, each on recumbent cycles, stopped by the side of the trail. We stopped and helped the young woman, who couldn’t walk, get her chain back onto the cassette. Bike people generally do things like that. All for one and so on.

With summer here, our opportunities for riding are pretty good. Longer days, warm (in some places, just plain hot), great riding weather. Take advantage of it. Having fun has no age limit.

Check your bike, then ride

On Monday, June 21, at 4:28 in the morning, summer arrived. It’s official. Summer is here, and it is time to make sure your mountain bike is ready for the long days of summer that lie ahead.

Here are some things you should look for on your mountain bike, to make sure it is up to the rides that are coming up:

* Check your tires. If your trail tires are worn, the knobs are more like bumps than knobs, get new ones. As the summer progresses, the trails in the woods will get softer. Moon dust is the term used by the riders in the woods. You need a tire that will grip when you are cornering, especially on the downhill turns.

* Comfort tires–the ones with the normal tread in the center and knobs on the outside edge, are fine if you are going to ride almost exclusively on hard packed trails that will stay hard packed, or any paved trails. If you have comfort tires on your mountain bike and you get into a loose and bumpy trail, slow down. Common sense should rule the day.

* Check your frame, no matter what it is made of. This is critical if you are a hard rider on the off road trails, hit bumps pretty hard, pump over rocks and rock gardens, and do any kind of flight maneuvers, which, if you are a Boomer, you shouldn’t be doing anyway. If you only ride on paved trails, check the frame anyway. A cracked frame that fails while you are riding can ruin your day, or the rest of your days. If it is cracked, head to your local bike shop. Pay attention to what they tell you.

* Check your brakes: elevate your bike, get the wheels turning at a pretty good clip, and grab your bakes. Your tires should stop immediately. If they don’t, tighten the cables. If you have disc brakes, you’ll need to bleed them. If the travel of the brake lever feels mushy, or if it almost touches the handlebar before the wheels stop, tighten the cables or bleed your brakes. If you don’t know how to do either of these chores, head down to your local bike shop. Sacramento has many shops to choose from.

* Check your head set. It should be tight. If it isn’t tighten it.

* Check your chain. Clean it, then lube it. If it is an older chain, you may need a new one.

* Check your pedals. They should be tight on the pedal arms, and the pedal arms should be tight in the bracket.

* Lube anything that should be lubed, with the right lubricant. Putting the wrong oil or grease on your bike will cause many problems.

* If you clip in, make sure that your shoes, and pedals, are still doing what they are designed to do. These things do wear out after a while.

* Check your seat post. No cracks is good. Cracks mean it needs to be replaced, before you ride again.

* Check your seat. Everything should be tight. If anything isn’t, replace it.

* Check your helmet. If it even looks like it may have a crack in it, or you’ve already done one head hit with it, put it in the garden, plant something in it. Buy a new one.

Now that the season has begun in earnest, make sure that your bike is ready for the pounding that comes along with hitting the trails. One of the best things about mountain biking is the joy of the ride. Make sure that your ride is a joy.

Mountain bikes are an ever evolving species. Anything that stays static for too long tends to wither. The mountain biking community, and the mountain bikes they ride, are anything but static. The technological advances involve physics, and materials. Physics determines whether or not the material will stand up to the rigors of being part of a bike that is likely to take quite a bit of stress.

The materials debate will not fade, nor should it. The debate revolves around carbon fiber, aluminum, titanium, and steel, and combinations of them. Each material has it’s champions and detractors, although the detractors aren’t the kind who spend time completely dismissing whatever it is they don’t care for. It’s more a matter of technical disagreement about which is the absolute best for a bike.

Reality is that the absolute best material for a bike is relative to the type of bike it’s being used for. The reason most entry level bikes, especially the ones for younger children, are made of steel or aluminum, is cost and common sense. Children outgrow bikes before the bikes need repair. Only the oldest child gets a new bike. The younger brothers and sisters get the outgrown bikes.

Mountain bikes get more serious as the age and weight of the rider goes up. The price goes up because the materials used cost more. For instance, the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp has an alloy frame. It costs $2200 out of the box. At Walmart, the 26” Mongoose XR-75 Dual Suspension Men’s Bike, featuring an aluminum frame, runs $129. All aluminum is not created equal. A Trex Fuel EX 9 has what Trex calls an alpha red aluminum frame. This bike will set you back considerably more than $129. This version of an aluminum bike runs in the $3,360 range. There is a difference not only in the aluminum in the frame, but in the components that are used.

Carbon, aluminum, titanium, alloys. Each one is chosen for strength and the ability to absorb shocks. Mountain bikes need to be able to absorb shocks on a repeated basis. Even on the most tame roads and trails that this rider ventures out on, bumps are always present. In the woods, bumps are constant. The mountain bike must absorb all the stress on the trails and keep the rider safe. It has to still be a bike when the day is done. Failure in the frame is always catastrophic.

Consider all of the new technology, geometry, and materials when you head to your local bike shop to find a new mountain bike . The crew at the shop will want to know about how and where you ride. Look at several types of bikes: hard tails, front suspension, full suspension.  If you are heading out on the single tracks, or anywhere out in the forest, remember that safety counts. You’ll pay for it, either because you bought an actual mountain bike, or because you didn’t. A good bargain is one thing. A cheap bike is quite another.

Webcor Womens Pro team, 2010. Photo courtesy of Greg Koch, gkphotography.net

Ever notice how most of, if not all of, the press coverage of cycling, road or mountain, is about the men? If you didn’t know any better you might believe that there are no women in the professional ranks of racing bicycles. On May 16, the Amgen Tour of California took off from Nevada City, and worked its way down to Sacramento, to finish the first stage. Seven days later, it finished down in Southern California. At the press conference, held on May 14, no mention was made of women racing in Sacramento. As it turns out, there was a rather hotly contested women’s race at the downtown finish area. The Sacramento Grand Prix is actually a pretty big criterium, or circuit race, for professional women riders. The following is an article from my examiner.com column, about that race:

“Last Sunday the 2010 Amgen Tour of California left Nevada City and wound it’s way down to Sacramento, arriving just short of 4 hours later. The race ended in Thousand Oaks down in southern California today. The winner of this years ATOC is Michael Rogers of HTC-Columbia.

What isn’t well known is that while the men were working their way to Sacramento last Sunday, a professional women’s criterium was taking place along the finishing circuit in Sacramento.

80 women rode in what was officially called the Sacramento Grand Prix. This is the first year for the SGP, and hopefully it will be repeated next year. Of the 80 women riders, 30 of them hold national and world titles, an amazing statistic. Some of the women in the race are aiming to ride in the 2012 Olympics, and are coached by former Olympians.

The race was 60 minutes and consisted of twenty 1.4 mile loops around the capitol. This race is billed as the largest women’s race in the United States.

The winning team was Peanut Butter and Company Twenty12. 17 year old Coryn Rivera led her team to the first place finish.Colavita-Baci came across in second, led by  Modesta Vzesniauskaite, and Webcor Builders was led to the third place finish by Joelle Numanville.

Interviewed after the race, 22 year old  Canadian Numanville of Webcor Builders said that there were lots of attacks throughout the race, and it was simply intense. Webcor Builders race director Karen Brems, an Olympian, said that Numanville has been riding 9 years, and that this is her first year as a pro.

The Webcor team, like most of the other women’s teams, is international in make-up. There are 3 Canadians, one Austrian, and 4 American riders on the team. Brems says that the team will be racing throughout the spring and summer. The next race for the women is June 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, followed the next weekend by a race in Ottawa, Canada.

The young women riding the pro circuit are every bit as deserving as the men to be on the front pages of the the zines, blogs, newspapers, and magazines of cycling. This column will continue to follow the Webcor Builders team and the women of the pro teams.”

Now, it seems a bit out of place that with women riding professionally that the mainstream press really doesn’t bother much with what they do. The womens races, if you follow bike races, are every bit as intense as the men’s. This rider will continue to highlight the Webcor Womens Professional Cycling Team as time goes on.

The Amgen Tour of California, by switching to May, is going    head-to-head with major European tours. The line up at the TOC is impressive. Several team riders have chosen to ride the TOC instead of the European  Giro d’ Italia.

Amgen announced the 16 teams that were invited to participate in the tour. It is an impressive group, and should make for an impressive peloton, a great tour, and wonderful opportunities for locals along the route, to watch a world class event. Invitations to Americas top stage race are eagerly sought by pro teams around the globe.

Team Radio Shack, whose riders include Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer, will be there. Other pro tour teams include HTC-Columbia, Quick Step, Saxo Bank, Garmin-Transitions, Rabobank, and Liquigas-Dolmo. Professional Continental teams Cervelo TestTeam and BMC racing will also participate.

U.S. based Continental teams Bissell Pro Cycling, UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis, Jelly Belly p/b Kenda, SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy, Fly V Australia, Team Type 1 and Kelly Benefit Strategies are expected to ride as well.

This makes for the strongest group of riders and teams the TOC has experienced. The addition of the North American based Continental teams makes for a great match-up with the worlds great riders.

HTC-Columbia’s  Mark Cavendish, known as the Missle, along with Michael Rodgers will skip the Giro to ride the TOC this year. Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Dave Zibriiskie (Garming-Transitions), Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Dolmo), Andy Schleck and Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) are among the Europeans who have decided to ride the TOC.

As of this writing, the full rosters of who will be riding for each team isn’t known. The Pro Tour teams have to make strategic decisions about who will ride where, and when. Not long after the TOC is over, the Tour de France will be contested. It looks to be a great riding season. If you are a retired Boomer, a trip to California to see the assembled pro’s race down the California coast could be a great vacation.

The Amgen Tour of California (TOC) is a little less than two months away. Stage one launches from Nevada City on Sunday, May 16. From Nevada City it’s on to Sacramento. The second stage starts in Davis, which isn’t too far away if you are  in the Sacramento, Yuba, Placer, or El Dorado counties to get to. This is a major road bike stage race, and it is possible to see two starts and one finish within two days. This tour is the largest cycling event in the United States. If you are anywhere near this event, look it up, and see if you can make it to one of the stages. It beats an overseas flight to see a major stage race.

The TOC was moved to May this year in the hopes that the weather would be more hospitable. Last years race spent quite a bit of time fighting cold, rain, and fierce headwinds as the peleton wound its way towards southern California. While the riders may be somewhat used to it, the TOC fans aren’t. The May start should be better for the riders, sponsors, and the fans.

Businesses along the way should be happy about the May start as well. Major road bike tours bring in quite a bit of revenue as they roll through the communities along the route. Millions, actually, in revenue. Not only does this international affair bring dollars into the local economies during the race itself, interest in bicycling in general goes up, just as it does during the Tour de France. Bicycle sales go up as well.

If your plans include watching the start, or the finish, of any of the stages, make your reservations for rooms now. Once the tour stages are announced, rooms start filling up. Being close to the venue makes for a much better experience. California in spring is generally a pretty nice place to be. For all the Boomers in cold, snowy regions, this is a great excuse to head west.

Stay tuned for more information about the TOC as the start day gets closer. There are many facets to the TOC, and this column will cover as many of them as possible. What to do while you wait? Ride, of course.