Brazen Cycleworks

On the eve of the Olympics, Nike is pouring its support behind ordinary athletes in its Greatness Everywhere campaign. I just saw it this morning as the first featured video on Youtube home page and it is pretty cool, with a nice message. Even cooler I am featured at 0:39, I swam all morning under the London Bridge as an extra for the triathlon shot for 1 sec of imagery that was used. It was a neat experience as I am a Huge Olympics fan. Check out the video here.

Today will be an epic fight for tour pride on the cobbles around the monuments in Paris. Today I took a ride of my own around Amboise, it was fun to see villages on a quiet Sunday and have most of the roads to myself. However I haven't ridden a woman's grocery getter since college, but it worked well if I exclude the rear brake.

Today we travelled past Macon to jump in front of the tour as it headed south. It was just 45 minutes into the day and the break was just getting established. Sagan was drilling it through the village we were watching from. Sagan dragged Oss with him and the chase was on with another 20 or so. It seemed like less than a minute for each of the three groups to pass, but without timing it you would never know. The excitement was fun, and you could feel the energy of the peleton breeze by. Below is the series of photos of the three groups in reverse order. See who you can recognize. I saw Wiggo, Cav, Griepel and more...

It get nuts about and hour before the riders arrive. The vehicles defy description so I included a slideshow to show off the energy of madness in the tour. Youtube link to follow.

I admire and respect the advice that Lennard Zinn delivers. Reach and Stack are the key industry words that you need to know. For those of you wanting to setup multiple bikes the same way, here is the guide you need .

Will this season be Jens Voigt's last?  I have to say I enjoyed his famous quote about what his internal dialogue is like when racing for the win in a ridiculous break. I just found out he has 6 kids, damn this guy can do it all! Mad props brother! Is it just me or did Levi's early season crash leave him with a rather large growth on his back? Do TJ's friends call him Tijuana as a nickname?  If I was I would.

I am in love and totally obessed with STRAVA.  I find that goal oriented riding is driving up my intensity even on short rides and really improving my leg speed and power.  It isn't often I get to ride with friends, so having a social component ia fun way to stay connected and encourage others. The next step for me is probably a Garmin 500, my current Iphone is a 3GS and it can only handle rides that are 2.5 hours.  I am a bit surprised by my STRAVA obsession as I have never even had a computer or power meter installed on my 2008 BH Connect.  If you are interested in picking up a screaming deal on a 2010 BH CONNECT, do not wait.  Use the image below and email me pronto.  They are new and I have a very limited supply(54cm, 58cm, 59.5cm) I can't say enough about mine, but don't take my word for it.   It is comfortable, predictable, efficient, handles like a performance car and light enough to be built into a UCI illegal configuration.  ...

I migrated slowly in 2011 from 23c tires, to the Continental Gran Prix 24c tires and loved them.  The comfort and confidence on rough pavement made them a great choice for El Tour de Tucson.  When it was time to replace them I wondered if even wider would be better.  Michelin Pro Race 3 in 25c went on and I haven't been happier.  I used them in Tour de Mesa and had a great result.  I was descending on Shea at a very high rate of speed when the guy in front of me lead me into a big pot hole.  The impact was violent, and I even sat up momentarily thinking double flats might be possible.  But NOTHING!  Now it looks like the Pros are getting the word too. 

This ride circumnavigates the San Tan Mountains.  The effort required is not reflected in the mileage.  It was the best I ride I could find to make a Gilbert version of the Tour of Flanders.  It has 4 miles of dirt "road" riding [bring your 25 tires or bigger] which includes 2 gate crossings, 3 deep sand washes, one pissed off Pitbull, a nice sector of 50s era asphalt pave, and no place to refill your water bottles.   Starts and finishes at Focus Cyclery and would probably exactly 50 miles if you take safer roads.  Hands: Numb, Feet: Asleep, Butt: Unhappy, Smile: Unrestrained.

I always meant this blog to capture the personal history I have had with cycling.  Part of that history are the bikes I have ridden. In order from Present to Past here is my list. BH Connect, Club Fuji, Fetish Penna, Serotta Nova, Parkpre Ultralight Prestige Fixed Gear, Specialized Allez Sport in Aluminum, Trek 2000, Specialized Allez in Steel, Nishiki Prestige Now I have to come up with a decent timeline and try my MTB list.

My friend Tauru is riding his bike from the southern most point of South America to the top of Alaska to raise awareness for the vision impaired, which he is a part of. You can help support his ride by helping to vote for the film about his adventure that is trying to get to Sundance Film Festival. Share this link and vote.  http://www.indiewire.com/article/vote-on-the-project-of-the-week-will-it-be-two-blind-mahogany-noise-or-beyond

Hey Eric are you the same Brazen_Cycle_Works on eBay? I do get this question a lot, and yes I buy and sell on eBay under that user name.  I used to sell much more on ebay, but the fees between Paypal and eBay have gone out of control.  It is difficult to pass on really great deals when ebay takes such a generous cut for themselves.  I have turned to Craigslist > Phoenix> East Valley to sell which has been nice, but I rarely list items for sale on my blog. If you see an item I am selling I can make you a very competitive offer, so feel free to email me directly , with your phone number and how I can help.  Spammers and scammers don't do this so I will know you are serious. I would be happy to give you a prompt call. Item number: 280882623955