Floyd Landis is...

Jesus Manzano? Or just plain Crazy?
NYT article where floyd spills the beans

I guess he is probably telling the truth. As I have stated in the past, I think the majority of the peloton was doped to the gills in the late nineties and early to mid oughts. But maintaining you are innocent and writing a book about how innocent you are and then recanting like this is not the best credibility move. I wish he did this immediately upon getting caught. I can't wait for his next book. I hope he calls it Floydtosterone and then is forced to pay me royalties for using the phrase.

Remember Manzano as the guy who detailed every little bit of the doping calvacade at Kelme, was tarred as crazy by everyone in cycling up to the head of UCI, but it turned out in the end he was almost completely vindicated by subsequent scandals including Operation Puerto and the continued attempt to ban Valverde. See previous writing by me on Manzano, doping hero. Please note the list of substances he claims to have ingested for doping purposes. Awesome.

I also wonder if we are in for a bandwagon confession from Tyler Hamilton.

Note, regardless of doping, the Giro and Tour de California are pretty interesting this year. Check em out.

Our Far Flung correspondents

From Moscaline's west coast correspondent and Santa Barbara outpost manager and brother, currently on location in Korea, come these photos.





He saw virtually no bikes in Seoul, but did see two Strida folding bikes.

I am mocked

The original baby

Have not had a Wink256 post in a while



Here is Elena and her original needy baby. Winkie does not quite get the love he wants, but Aida gives him plenty of hair/tail/ear pullings, which he generously interprets as love.

Slowly crashing in many parts

Monday night on a post dinner grocery run, as I ride up the bike on Canyon in front of the pool, up the hill on the sweeping right turn, just before the movie theater:
1. a car cuts into the bike lane a bit.
2. My spidey sense tingles and I swerve toward the curb a bit more.
3. I hit a fairly big rock in the bike lane with the front and maybe the rear wheel.
4. This jostles the bike a bit and derails the slightly too loose chain on the IG hubbed raleigh twenty
5. Just as I pedal hard out of the saddle
6. Causing me to flip neatly over the bars.
7. Land on my right hand hard
8. Give me enough time to look at the front handle bars under me and wonder where the rest of the bike is.
9. And then have the saddle hit me in the upper back and the rest of the bike pile drive into me.

Result 1:


Former Cateye opticube well shattered. Also handlebar mounted white reflector broken. Also later that evening the striker broke off the incredibell when I tried to use it. I did continue my mission and retrieved precious milk for the baby.


Result 2:


Sore wrist Monday night evolves to swollen immobile wrist on tuesday morning evolves into morning in ER. Conclusion: no breaks, some sort of contusion on the outer right wrist with swelling bruising in the carpal tunnel, effectively ennumbing the pinky and ring finger as well as preventing most of the useful bending movements.

Analysis:
Shit happens. I am not too pissed at the car as it was shoddy driving, but shoddy driving happens all the time, but it took the trinity of the swerve, the rock and the power stroke on non-engaged chain to cause me to crash. I am pretty sure clueless driver did not even see me go down as it took more than a couple beats between the pass and the fall. My chain should have been tighter and the rock should have not been there. Eh.... I did ride to the hospital and work on tuesday, walked in and back today, probably will ride in tomorrow. Coaster brakes enable nearly manual dexterity free riding.

Coworker reaction amuses me. In order of popularity:
1. As much as you ride, you still fell off?
2. As much as you ride, I am surprised this does not happen more often.
3. You drove today right?

Fortunately it feels much better already and doc claims I will be just like new by next week. The bruise on my shoulder from the saddle and the tweaked pec/ribs hurt more than the wrist. I will be better soon. I will then continue my hella training blocks.

Darn Kids

Scene 1: Friday play group.
I take Aida to playgroup in the park on Friday while Elena is getting her hair cut. After a while I am sort of supervising Aida and a gaggle of bigger girls who are playing a complicated bird-cat-mouse-nest run-like-mad game. Aida likes the run around part, but she appears to be slightly likely to be trampled by older girls, so I hover a bit. As I am hovering the two oldest girls (5?) look at me suspiciously and have the following conversation:
1. Is that your dad?
2. No! My dad is at work.
1. So is my dad. He has stuff to do!

So there you go.

Scene 2: Saturday riding the purple schwinn while towing asleep baby in the chariot.
I ride up to a furninture sale at the masonic lodge's parking lot. A grade school kid rides up to me on his Next, 20" wheeled dual suspension bike. Conversation ensues:
Kid: Hi
Me: Hello.
Kid: Your bike is pink.
Me: Uh, well, it is actually purple, I think...
Kid: Is it your mom's?






Anyhow. I will be here all week.

A few of my favorite things

Someday I will find THE bike for these things. Until then, sitting in the parts bin awaiting their mate. I think I got them 11 years ago. TA skip tooth ring and regina block chain.

5 years ago

Heh.

Team Ed

I am proud to be a founding member of Team Ed. Our namesake has an excellent profile this week in the Knoxie Paper: here. Note the terms "tortoise mentality" used in the article. I think that means Ed is sort of the kent of the southeast.

Make sure you watch the video:

Well done Ed and G.

Also note that shorter fellers that ride more than you and live in super twisty rooty muddy knoxville are all about the 29'ers. Probably a lesson in there somewhere...


I was able to find a nice photo from the initial race of Team Ed at the 2002 edition of the 12 hours of Haw ridge race:

We were all on single speeds. That is Ed, Eric, Tarik and Gary from left to right. Ed is the one we are talking about, Gary is featured in the video and article as well. Eric has the sweet vanagon and was serving hot soup and cold beers to go with his laps. I think we were attempting to grow Ed like mustaches on short notice. Good times.

Team Ed still races actively. Check out their tales here

I am so proud.

Its a thing! Bikes on smartcars

If you see three, its a thing.

1st sighting:
Driving north near Pojaque, I saw a smart car going the other direction with a Yakima hitch mount rack with a dual suspension MTB on the back. It was cattywumpus on the rack with the rear wheel above the roofline of the car.

2nd sighting:
not a week later

Framebuilder and tiny car aficionado Curtis Retrotech Giantman Inglis himself seems to have this set up, seen on his flickr stream click for source.

3rd sighting:
A day after number 2:

This guy in my neighborhood has a homemade rack added to the factory hitch on his Smartcar. Factory hitch! Who wouldathunkit. Note the sweet lustron home in the background.


It is now officially a thing. All the rage. I am going to get a smartcar and festoon it with biketites screwed directly into the plasticky smartcar body and mount as many bikes as I can simultaneously so I can join the fun.

Also, Smartcar v. Bakfiets

update! 4/30/10
From the comments, we received:
This excellent visualization of smartcar bike festoonage:

from reader JRA

And then this most excellent conceptually troubling folding bike on a smartcar:

Caught in california by andy R.

Thank you fellers! I knew it was a thing.

A formidable bunch

Buried way deep in the letters section on velonews is this lovely photo of a group of vintage cyclists.



(click for huge image at source)

That is a group that looks like they would put you in the curb before you knew what hit you. And then stop for wine and pastrami sammiches mid ride.

Previous and relatedvintage pic on moscaline.

Smaller velodromes

I have long been interested in the small velodrome phenomena. The vandedrome was the first one that hit my radar. Then, a great regret in my velolife, I never bought the ticket to go to canada and ride the Human powered roller coaster.

I noted recently there is this tiny redbull branded minidrome floating around the antipodes:

Red Bull Minidrome from Radar Films on Vimeo.

Pretty neat, but maybe needs more banking, wouldn't it have been cooler if it was cross bred with this:

(put that on youtube!)

Or maybe crossed with a pump track somehow?

Update 5/19/2010:
Welcome Coco's variety readers! Also, check your local paper for some more tiny velodrome action:

Pomona student Samuel Starr makes velodrome inside a library!
Read the rest at the la times
132 foot circumference, 5 second laps. Well done!

SF bike racks

Third street:


Not bad for arty racks, you might be able to get 2 bikes on each.


Church and Market. Virtual Racks:

I locked to them my invisible bike and all was whole.

Went to SF

Rode a ton, still gained weight, took many photos. Here they are:

I consult the oracle:


Done saw the bridge:


Mr Cell Phone Talking Bag head:


The Sealions among other landmarks:


Down on Cesar Chavez:


Pier 23 Fishbike:


Did some tiny wheeled fixie off road riding in Marin:


F-market Trolleys, still cost the same as a bus.


Better than cable cars:


I imported NM finest burrito for JimG to try.

He liked it!

This tiny woman fits in her own backpack:


Saw this place down on 20th in the Mission while trying not to drown in the rain:


All the photos here

29er rim opinions?

Normally I don't do this kind of blog post, but I have been out of the loop for a while whats new in the 29'er world.
Someone out there reading probably has some experience with this and I need some help.

I am imminently going to receive my new 29'er rigid single speed from Kelly.
First bike in the line is mine, look at those stays


It is designed to fit huge freaking 29er tires. Hopefully it will fit 29x2.75" tires when someone makes a set.

My current plan is to have two sets of wheels. A race wheel built on 32 hole disk hubs and 28-30mm rims using wtb weirwolf 29x2.55race tires.
My thoughts are either Salsa Semi Rims, Velocity Blunt or WTB speed disc.

The second wheelset will be more all mountainy and will be built on 36 hole disc hubs, 35mm rims and fatter tires. Probably WTB kodiak tires, or maybe Conti Mountain King 29 x 2.4
My thoughts here are for the Salsa Gordo or Velocity P35 rims.

I have built alot of wheels around velocities and I really like them. Anyone have any experience with either the Salsa or the WTB rims? Are the Salsa rims worth the extra cost? Any others that I am missing? WTB rims seem to be much cheaper. Any thoughts?

Any other fat tires in the 29'er size I should be looking at? I have been running the 26" weirwolfs for years and love them, so I am looking forward to the 29'er version.

Leave any opinions in the comments. Thanks pals.