Let's Be Careful Out There

I hesitate to start a blog like this, but...I was just riding along, (JRA) when I was almost hit by a car. So let us go back to the beginning. I was working on a new bell display at the Pedal House when I first noticed that it had started snowing again. Yippee, snow. (subtext: I can't wait for summer!) By closing time, it was pretty clear that I wasn't going to go shirtless on my way home. I picked up some food from Michelle at Jeffery's and was off, studded snow tires in full effect.

As I rode along I kept hearing this noise, and it was getting louder. I quickly figured out that it was just my labored breathing, and trudged on through the snow. It was cold, but at least visibility was surprisingly good. The snow made everything a little brighter, so my headlight was glaring out at the motorists as I pedaled toward home. As I crossed fifteenth on Ivinson, a lady in an SUV slid through the red light and came withing inches of hitting me. She was being careless, but it didn't matter because she was safe in her car. I almost peed myself.

Truthfully, I never stopped pedaling. I had a feeling I was safe, but it still scared me. I had a night sun and a rear blinker, and I was still almost hit. I think if she wouldn't have seen me she might have blown through the red light. Scary.

Two blocks later an aggressive "Get on the sidewalk, I should door your (explicit, explicit)." I was riding legally down 15th turning onto Custer when this happened, and of course I calmly and respectfully replied that it was illegal for me to ride on the sidewalk, and like Mary Poppins, I rode home happily.

The moral of this story is, get good lights, be calm and assertive when dealing with motorists. And for heavens sake drive defensively. Don't count on motorists to see you, even if you have a high dollar light mounted on your handlebar. Follow the rules of the road, but don't expect anyone to care about your safety. It is cynical to say that, and really, REALLY nice when a motorist is respectful of your right to travel on the road, but you have to be hyper aware of your surroundings, because you don't have bumpers. Happy Trails from the Pedal House.

Done Some Riding

Well, I have been riding the carbon bicycle every night since I purchased it, and the verdict is in. I love my bicycle. It is fast, climbs well, and it feels as smooth as butter. I also recently purchased the new Time carbon pedals, and though at first I didn't feel the difference, I now realize they are stiffer and distribute the pedal power more efficiently. I was worried about the swap from Shimano to a new cleat system, but the difference in getting in and out was negligible. I am extremely impressed with Time. They did, however, send me two Right cleats, and thankfully Pedar was there and caught the fact that they are in fact directional releases on the cleat.

Anyhoo, I hope to see you all on the trail really soon. Enjoy the riding season.

The Purist in Me Died a Little Today.

I have seen the look in a person's eyes when they get a new bicycle and I have been extremely honored to help facilitate that feeling. I have helped several people get bicycles; The single mom hoping to save money, the Wyoming Technical Institute student who was too broke to pay for a $50 bicycle, the child who wanted something without training wheels, the family who wanted to spend more time together. All the while I was plugging along on my 1996 Bontrager Race Lite, proud that my bike was made of steel, proud that I only had the one gear, proud that I was a purist.

But, as I mentioned in my last blog entry, things change. Well today, the purist in me died a little. The good news is, like an old oak tree, when part of it dies, another part flourishes. I got a new bicycle. Not just any bicycle either.

It is carbon.
It has gears.


It has suspension.

It has disc brakes.

And it is worth every penny. It is the Anthem X Advanced SL 1, and I am happy to say that I love my new bicycle, and I am happy to enter a new stage of my life. Let us call it, the carbon era. Just a side note, apples in the carbon era are so much better than they were in the grumpy old steel era.

Happy Trails.

P.S. I think Jeff likes the new bike too. He slept all day after our ride, and if you know Jeff, you know that is an impressive accomplishment for a fat guy like me.

Photos By Jessica Flock.

Changing Seasons

Things change. That is the nature of life, and the one truism that just wont go away. The face of the Pedal House has changed, and this bike care professional is sad. We always knew Lindsey was going to leave the nest one day and move on to another professional endeavor, we just didn't want it to be this year. We were actually hoping for some time in the next Century.

We are, however, extremely happy that she will be close enough to come and visit us, and hopefully she can find a way to do inventory from Denver. Good Luck Lindsey, we already miss you and hope you find a place that makes you as happy as you made us.

A brief history of the Pedal A Way program.

Riding bicycles with kids has given me a great deal of pleasure, and as much as I appreciate recognition for the work I have done, I would also like to ensure that those who have matched (if not exceeded) my efforts should also be recognized. Recently there was an article published in the Laramie Daily Boomerang by one of cycling's closest friends, Eve Newman, whom I recently request Facebook friend status with. (Fingers crossed for good luck.) The Article was in Friday's Paper, and featured some young people from the Cathedral Home's Pedal A Way program out on the trails of Happy Jack. In the article, Eve said that the bicycles are provided by the Pedal House, and that is not 100% accurate. We do provide service and parts for the kids, much of which we donate, but the bicycles are provided by an unlikely source; bike thieves.

Ironic I know, since the slogan of the Pedal House is in fact, "We Still Hang Bike Thieves In Wyoming". But, before we digress, let me explain. Back in 2002 I was on a backpacking trip with a man named Dann Harvey. We were hiking with kids from the Cathedral Home for Children in the Four Corners area of the southwest. One of the kids said we should start doing bicycle trips because they would be more fun. The next summer the Cathedral Home for Children accepted a proposal to let me take a couple of cottages our into the woods for a week and go mountain biking. The first trip was Brush cottage; 9 girls, three staff, some tents, some Colman stoves, lots of spaghetti, and a bunch of bikes I pulled together from my own supply. It was awesome, but we needed more bikes.

That summer I was lamenting with a colleague of mine named Ann McIntosh, about my bicycle woes. I was a decent mechanic, but I had little resources to work with and she sympathized with my efforts. About an hour later she asked if I had anywhere to put 50 bikes, and I almost fainted. She had called the Laramie Police Department and asked if they could donate a few bicycles to help out the program. They donated their entire recovered/stolen bicycle stockpile. We were in dept to them, but they didn't stop there. They have been donating their bicycles to the kids at the Cathedral Home ever since. The Program at the Cathedral Home wouldn't exist without their kind donations.

So, to Eve Newman, Ann McIntosh, Laramie Police Department, and a whole bunch of people that we will mention on the next installment of this history lesson, Thank You So Much for making the Pedal A Way program possible.

Bicycle Love

Sometimes life will bring about challenges that we are not expecting. Look at stage eight of the Tour de France this year. It seems the American Favorite, Lance Armstrong, has fallen from grace and yet he continues to ride. Now let us be clear, I am not a Lance Armstrong fan. I believe that most people admire Lance simply out of the love of a champion. I think his fame is simple; people who do not watch cycling on a regular basis admire him the same way people who know little about basketball admire Kobe Bryant. He simply gets a great deal of press. I admire Lance's skills, but he isn't my favorite rider. Andy Schleck was my pick of the year. (Pictured in Yellow)

But there is something to be learned from Lance's Tour this year. He is out of it. He has failed miserably, and not because of something he did. In fact, he was riding an outstanding ride. Cadel Evans cracked under the pressure of yellow, and is a broken shell of a man at his own hands. But Lance was taken out by other's mistakes. And still Lance rides on. Instead of packing up and heading home, he has reinvented himself as a support rider for his teammate and hopeful podium contender Levi Leipheimer. He rides simply out of his love of the sport, and his commitment to the other riders. That is something I admire about him. I am never happy to see someone fail at their endeavors, but I love to watch when people accept the challenges of life and remain a positive member of the community. Kudos Lance, from the Pedal House.

Preaching Sportsmenship

I am a horrible example for sportsmanship. I have never been good at being good at something. I try to be humble when I am excellent at something, but truth be told I have a lot to learn. For instance, I need to learn to be excellent at something. :)


But I do know one thing. Justice, one of my young apprentice mechanics is a much more suitable individual for teaching the ways of sportsmanship. During this last weeks race he had a mechanical, as we call it in the bicycling world. (A quick and easy way to say something went wrong with his bicycle's mechanical workings.) Anyway, as he pulled over to fix it another young rider rode by him and laughed. He actually found his misfortune amusing. Justice finished way ahead of this young man, but in the end was humble and didn't gloat. I made a funny comment, meant to be a joke, about how he tried to leave that kid in his dust for laughing, but by the time the kid had arrived the dust had settled, and Justice defended the other rider. Kudos Just Ice, for teaching me about sportsmanship, and how to be a better role model. You are the reason that I work with young people...and welcome to the Pedal House, (He fixed two bikes today up to Joel's standards.)

I would also like to welcome Max to the Pedal House. Though he has some major catching up to do in the mechanical realm, at least compared to his young friend Justice, he does outshine him in the quote department. Welcome Maximus...and my you have a thousand quotes on the bathroom door before you move on to bigger and better things.