On the morning of the 6th day of 44|5’s Dolomites cycling adventure, the weather was cool, bordering on cold, with light to moderate rain. Since we were in Merano at an elevation of about 1,000 feet, and the plan for the day was to climb the giant Stelvio Pass at over 9,000 feet, there were […]
“Tell my wife I love her!” I was climbing the Mortirolo when something rare happened: I came up on a rider actually going slower than I was. Since I was doing about 4 mph he had to be crawling. At these speeds it takes a long time to catch and pass someone, so I was […]
At least it seemed so at the time. Now I’m not so sure. The last night’s dinner after a week long bicycle trip is always a festive affair. Especially if the riding has been good and the riders all enjoy each other’s company. That was certainly the case in Annecy in France last August at […]
My last blog described the most serious type of tubeless trouble I could imagine. I’ve never had the kind of problem poor Bill had. His tubeless tire suffered an explosive decompression, and his tire blew off of the rim and caused a crash. I have been riding tubeless tires on most of my bikes since […]
But it was still pretty traumatic. Last Sunday’s club ride had a kind of mellow feel to it, since most of us had ridden pretty hard the day before. A flat and easy paced ride was a great way to spend what was shaping up to be a hot morning. Our group of 9 left […]
…eventually. All morning we had light rain, or some heavier rain. Our 9 am start got pushed back to 10, 11, and then after lunch. We ate ham and cheese croissants for lunch and it was still cold and wet. Finally at 1 PM the sun came out and we hit the road. Our first […]
The ride along the Gorge de la Nesque is one of the best cycling roads in the world. The climb is 10 miles long and is all uphill at 2 to 5%, so it is steady but not steep. The views are spectacular. Actually that understates it, but ‘spectacular’ will have to do. And there […]
I saw the signs as we started up the Col de la Suzette. “Route Barrèe”. These signs are common on the roads in France, but usually they mean that there might be a small excavation or blockage coming up, and cyclists can almost always just ride around it. Or at worst, walk 50 meters or […]
But cyclists call it something else. And we use words not appropriate for this G Rated blog. Riding in windy conditions is really irritating. I would much rather climb cols in calm conditions than ride on flat roads into a stiff breeze. And since we go slower into the wind that we do when it […]
When the most irritating thing that happens to me is a creased crossword puzzle, it had to be a pretty good day. Sunday was the first time the high temperature rose above 70 degrees since November 12, 2018. That is 125 days, and I learned from Mark Finan on KCRA that a streak this long […]