Two Wheel Blogs

My version of sprinting with Campy shifters is an invigorating trip. Make no mistake, I am an average sprinter at best when compared to your typical cat 5 field...and I know it. Sometimes it is fun to fantasize and live like a kid (you know you roll into sight of a sprint sign and imagine for a moment that you are Mario, or Robbie)

Like I said, I am not a hardcore sprinter, but I can hold my own against other hacks like myself. A typical ride for me involves a fair amount of trash talk and ego fluffing, so it should come as no surprise that challenging another rider to a sprint is common place on a ride.

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I went on a couple great rides recently. Hard to share the details and keep a straight face, but it is just too much fun not to share!

Last night I met up for the club ride. This ride tends to harbor an older group of riders that have goals that are clear, but not at all aligned with my ideas. I can not fault other riders for sticking with their game (in fact, I commend it!) Anyway, this ride is always ripe for a sprint fest because one or two other guys on my ability level show up with no one to beat on.

The name says it all.

For whatever reason, I have been doing a bunch of slow rides lately. Not really *that* slow, but they are a bit slower and longer than typical for me.

I have been taking more time to enjoy what riding a fine bicycle has to offer...and it is a great thing.

Instead of slamming through the gears and hammering only to hear the sounds of wind in my ears, blood pumping, and tires grinding against pavement, I am taking more time to appreciate the sound of a perfectly tuned drive train, the sounds of the nature that lies slightly beyond the roads edge, and the voices of good friends. These are the things that give me passion towards cycling right now.

Sorry, it is true. I have not had much to say lately. I refuse to drone on about my road riding that I have been doing a lot of lately. There is just not much exciting to say about what I do.

I have not had electronics on my bikes for a couple years now, so I can not really talk about distance, average speed or power. The only thing I can say is how long the ride is in minutes and hours (pretty boring).

I live in central Missouri, so I can not boast about ancient landmarks that I pass as I ride. In fact, I tend to pass the same things every week. I could talk about the historic monuments that I pass (underground railroad refuges, State Capitol, Governor's Mansion, farms, railroads, other neat stuff that is hardly legendary).

I enjoyed a great ride today. The weather/wind made for a really fun time. At one point I led a short pace line over about a mile stretch where we were tempeted to pass a few cars. I was spinning a 53x11 at what felt to be a very high cadence during a nice tail wind.

One thing about today’s ride that was really neat to me was the way my bike felt. That had a lot to do with my wheels (I was using a different set than usual). More about that later.

The new style of 2WB. What do you think?

2-old has been at it again tweaking, tuning, and dialing in the improvements for the site. Personally, I think it is pleasing to the eye. Hope you like it to.

I can not get this song out of my head since the changeover...