2 steps forward 1 step back

Not much cycling news to report since last week since the weather continues to be the worst in recent memory.  Sweetie and I ran the Race for the Cure on Saturday and then Sunday was spent prepping the garden and planting 3 tomatoe plants.  Was hoping to get more done in the garden but Mother Nature had other plans.  By the time the third plant was in the ground I was working in a steady drizzle of cold rain.  Enough fun for one day - the rest of the plants will have to wait.

I can relate!

Was able to ride 3 days last week including Tuesday's hammer fest in Delaware and Wednesday's WBC Hoover ride with the "A" group.  Thursday was an easier recovery ride for me and since then the bike has sat in the basement waiting for dry weather to return  Whatever gains in fitness were realized last week have probably slipped away over the last 6 rainy days.  The rain is forecast to continue for the next 2 days.

Colorado and BTC are less than a month away.  I'm hoping for some serious saddle time between now and then.  

A Review of the Past Week

Well, the past week has been a busy one for me.  The job, family, housework and a few other activities took priority over the blog.  Fortunately the past week also included a few nice rides and an opportunity to tune up my karma.

Tom's Trillium Tour TTT):  Last Saturday I rode the TTT which began in Nelsonville and wandered through some beautiful sections of the Hocking Hills into Athens and then along the bike trail back to the start at Hocking College.  Started off with Ted, Greg, Rich and Steve but turned off as they pressed on to complete the 100 mile loop.  I ended up with around 70 miles and couldn't have enjoyed the ride more!  The roads were great, the route very well marked and the scenery was outstanding.  The Athens Bicycle Club puts on this ride and I plan to add it to my "must do" list in the future.

WBC Road Cleanup:  On Sunday Sweetie and I joined up with about 6-7 other Westerville Bike Club members for a road clean-up along the club's "adopt a highway" section of road north of Westerville.  My understanding is that our section of road is much easier to clean-up now compared to the first outing when more debris was laying along the side of the road.  But we still found a mother load of beer bottles, wine bottles and cigarette butts and wrappers.  There were even a few articles of undergarments collected for good measure.  Speculation over the possibility that all these items were related to one another in some way was a topic of discussion throughout the day.

Amy Rees & John Clectner with the fruits of their labor during the WBC road clean-up.

Thursday New Albany Ride:  the weather cleared nicely on Thursday and my work schedule allowed me to make it to the COP New Albany ride.  After sizing up the A riders and taking stock of how I felt, I decided to ride with the B's.  Things started off a bit easy but the paced picked up nicely as we hit the rollers.  Our original group of 30 plus eventually whittled down to around a dozen or so riders by the time we rolled to the finish in New Albany.  Among the strongest riders in our group were 3 impressive young ladies who really helped push the pace throughout the night.

Tonight is the eve of the 50th anniversary TOSRV.  This afternoon I went downtown to pick-up my packet and ran into lots of my cycling friends and the weather forecast for the weekend was among every one's primary topic of conversation.  Right now the forecast looks pretty positive with a chance of rain late in the day on Saturday and cloudy skies on Sunday.  Hopefully the forecast holds true and a fun time should be had by all.      

Tuesday night in Delaware - FINALLY!!!

Well, I finally made it to the Tuesday Delaware ride -actually almost didn't make it.  Around 4:15 I called Jax, who lives in the Delaware area, to see if he was riding since the forecast was looking bleak.  "Storms coming!" he replied, "planning to ride inside on the trainer".  Looking at the dark skies and strong winds outside my office I was seriously thinking of bagging the ride myself.  However, the weather forecast for the next several days looked terrible so I decided to take a chance and drive to D-town and see what would shake out.

On the outskirts of Delaware light drops of rain fell on my windshield and I again considered passing on the ride but pressed on to the parking lot behind Beehive Books.  I pulled into the parking lot and no one was there, so for a 3rd time I seriously considered skipping out on the ride.  I made a pass through the parking lot and planned to leave if I saw no riders when suddenly who should appear on his bike but Gus.  Right after that I saw Dave Chambers drive in and decided we would have a ride after all.  With 15 minutes left until ride time I changed into my gear in the car (always to be done with caution in a public parking lot) and quickly readied my bike.

Rolling up to Beehive to quickly fill my water bottles I saw 5 other riders including Andys, Mark Ames and Ben.  Butch also walked to the start from Breakaway to give us some words of encouragement before we started.  Four of the other AWOP  Riders were sporting their new kits which looked mighty nice.  I left my new kit at home because I didn't want the expected rainy weather to trash it on the first ride.  As it turned out the weather and the roads stayed dry. 

After a few greetings in the parking lot we rolled out.  Heading north toward Prospect we were cruising along at 29-31 mph because of the strong tailwinds so I knew the ride south would be brutal.  When the group turned to the west we had our first taste of headwind and our group of 6 was whittled down to 3 including Andys, Dave and me.  I could tell I was the weak link in this smaller group but worked as hard as I could to do my share of pulling as the route headed south into the strongest portion of head wind.

The 3 of us rode well together and I was close to being red lined most of the time we were headed south.  I felt pretty good sheltered behind Andys or Dave but the head wind was a crusher as I came through for my pull.  Ride time was approximately 2 hours and the average was around 20.5.  This was a good gauge to tell me how more fitness I need to find before things get really crazy when we have larger groups in the upcoming weeks.  I can't wait!

Soggy Saturday

The original plan for this past Saturday was to do Tom's Trillium Ride in Athens but all the recent rain caused several roads in the Nelsonville / Athens area to be closed due to high water.  Fortunately my friend Rick came to the rescue and planned a nice ride from Sunbury out to Utica and back.  Plenty of climbing was promised so that our group would not feel too bad about missing all the hills and scenery of Southeastern Ohio.  Word is that the Trillium ride is re-scheduled for next weekend.

We had a nice group of 12 riders for the 10:00 start time and we rolled out under cloudy skies with optimisism that we would stay dry for our ride.  From Sunbury we headed out to Johnstown and then on to Utica where we climbed Reynolds Hill before making a quick snack stop in town.  Rick put together a nice loop with more hills that brought us back into Utica again for lunch at Subway before we started the final run out to Weaver Road and back toward Johnstown.

Rick, our ride leader, powering up Reynolds Hill

The group strung out as we fought some head winds approaching Johnstown.  Rolling into the outskirts of town the skies became darker and thunder could be heard in the distance.  Light rain began to fall and we stopped under a school entry and contemplated our next move.  After a short break we pressed on for the last 20 miles or so as we closed in on Sunbury.  Less than 10 minutes from Johnstown the skies opened up and we were all quickly soaked to the bone.  The rain continued to fall until we completed the ride with just over 91 miles. 

Sweetie looking strong!

Despite the soaking we had fun.  Hoping to ride in Athens this Saturday and the current weather forecast predicts warm temps and clear skies.            

Hello Reality!

With the hip continuing to feel better each week I decided to head out to New Albany last night for the weekly COP ride.  Thought I should try and make up for lost time and get some speed in my legs.  By the time the ride began there was a pretty large crowd in attendance and I was trying to decide between the "A" & "B" groups.  When I first arrived Todd was there and he was planning to go with the A's and asked me if I wanted to head out with him for a short warm up ride.  Warm up ride?  I typically don't do a warm up before a weeknight group ride but I'm glad I did tonight.  This should have been my first hint of what was to come.

After sizing up the impressive looking group I reluctantly hopped in with the A's and we headed out into a fairly stiff cross wind.  I was toward the back of the pack and almost off the side of the road as I searched for some protection from the wind.  Riders were dropped along way and I felt better than expected, hanging pretty well until we reached the hills outside of Granville.  I crested the first big climb with the lead group but my tank ran out of gas as the group began to accelerate.  A few stragglers who had fallen off during the climb worked to jump back on but my body had enough.  The lead group backed off a bit after that first hill so I should have dug deep to get back on and try to catch a quick recovery.  As it turned out I was stuck in no man's land maintaining my distance from the group but unable to close the gap.  After a few miles riding alone I regrouped with Todd who had gotten caught up in some car traffic when we made the earlier turn toward Granville (the A's wait for no-one) and the two of us pressed on at a recovery pace.

Less than 10 miles from the finish the lead group of B riders (I think Mark Wilson has referred to them as the "B+ group") came up to us and one guy yelled for us to jump on.  With our legs rested we hopped onto the group and pressed on toward New Albany.  The pace was brisk and smooth and our group worked well together for the rest of the ride.

Although my legs had a reality check and I recognize how much fitness I lost with my hip ordeal, I felt good overall and had a great time riding with some really strong cyclists.  In retrospect I may have been better served to ride with the B's but I think the extra push to ride hard was good for me.  I'm hooked on the New Albany ride and plan to be there and each week my work schedule permits.  

Windy Sunday

The hip is starting to feel better but the weather last weekend and early this past week did not cooperate in giving me more time to get out and ride.  Wednesday and Thursday were pretty fair days and I was able to join in on a few group rides.

Decided I would ride MOC on Sunday and almost bagged the ride when I woke up that morning to strong winds and gray, cloudy skies.  Realizing I am severely behind in miles I decided to tough it up and ride the 67 mile route.  After reaching Cardington the route headed south back toward Delaware for the last 25 miles +/-.  Most of the return route was into strong, gusty headwinds that made it tough to control the bike and hold our line.  A tough day in the saddle but was really glad I got out on the bike.

This week's weather looks iffy but I hope to make a few week night rides and possibly a century ride in Athens on Saturday.  Also looking forward to a nice 3-day weekend for the Easter Holiday. 

Wednesday night with the WBC

Haven't posted lately for a variety of reasons including craziness at work and generally crappy overall weather conditions and an injury that have prevented me from getting outside on the bike.  Fortunately the weather broke last night and I joined in my first Wednesday night WBC Hoover ride of the season.  I rode with 3 other folks (Indiana Joe, Mike P & Sweetie) and we had a really great ride.  Nice and tight formation with a revolving pace line as we worked against the blustery winds that seemed to be in our faces in almost every direction we rode except when we headed east at the start. 

I stayed off the bike the last few weeks due to a nagging hip pain that troubled me after my last few rides.  Last night was a fairly easy pace and I did not experience pain after we were through.  I'm going to continue keeping an easy pace for the next few weeks and if the pain continues to stay away I'll begin cranking it up.  I once received a fortune cookie after eating Chinese and it said "Caution now is better than tears later".  I guess that sums up my cycling season right now. 

The weekend promises warm temps so I looking forward to getting out and enjoying Spring now that it finally seems to have arrived. 

Central Ohio Bike Racing is Alive and, well...Alive

Last night I read in some posts on FB that this week's Mid Ohio race had been postponed due to snow on the course.  The start of this year's racing season reminds me of 2008 when several races were postponed or cancelled due to snow.  After such a crappy Winter it looks like Mother Nature just isn't quite ready for Spring.

Speaking of racing, I was encouraged to see that Tym Tyler's events (now presented under "Dark Star Events") appear to be permitted by USA Cycling.  With the legitimacy of USAC and the eligibility of upgrade points associated with his events I am hopeful that Tym will see improved numbers at his races.  Tym's courses are among the best in Ohio and all area racers should benefit from the availability of venues that don't require spending $3.50 a gallon for gas to drive 2-3 hours for a bike race.

It appears, however, that some things haven't changed.  A quick visit to the Ohio Cycling Association (OCA) website shows an obvious absence of Tym's races in their schedule.  I know there is some bad blood between the OCA and Tym Tyler who has been better known for his "Team Columbus" racing organization for many years.  While allegations of Tym's past indiscretions with USAC are common knowledge, he seems to have made amends and his events are now permitted.  So it seems the OCA should have an obligation to list Tym's races with the other area USAC-permitted events for the convenient reference of racers in Central Ohio.  Better promotion of all area races means bigger fields, more competition and an enhanced racing experience for everyone.          

Come on Spring - We're ready already!

Mother Nature played yet another cruel trick this past week and into the weekend.  After heavy rains fell all week long which caused flooding in many areas, the temperatures dropped and snow was on the ground when I woke up this morning.  Since outdoor riding was not part of the plan for me this weekend I joined the group at the Levydrome yesterday and today for some quality trainer time. 

Yesterday we rode 1.5 hours to the "Local Heroes" Sufferfest DVD and today we did a 2 hour spin to The Expendables.  Work will only allow limited trainer time this coming week but the long range forecast for next weekend shows the possibility of warmer temps and drier weather.

Next Sunday the time changes and hopefully at that time I'll be making plans to put the trainer into storage and begin the long awaited week night rides.

Happy 90th Birthday Papa!!!

Yesterday was my dad's 90th birthday which is certainly an incredible milestone.  I stopped by last night to see my folks as I do each Friday evening and wished my dad all the best on his special day.

I've posted about my dad before.  He suffered a pretty serious stroke about 8 years ago and he has struggled with day to day activities ever since.  But health wise he is doing well.  His dad (my grandpa) lived to be 94 so I pray that I have inherited some of those long life genes.

I really proud of my dad (and also my mom who has been an incredible care giver to my dad for so many years).  Tomorrow evening our family will gether to celebrate dad's big milestone.  I'm looking forward to being a part of it.

History Repeats (Again!)

Cycling is a funny business. Not unlike many other pursuits, the bicycle world is always looking for the latest gizmos to help separate cyclists from their money. While the basic design of the modern road bike hasn't changed in well over 100 years, component innovations occur at an unbelievable pace.

O.Symetric - one of the more radical chain ring designs out there.

One of the cycling innovations I came across recently are the ovalized chain rings that have been out for awhile from Rotor-Q and O.Symetric. These companies claim that their new products reduce the pedaling "dead zone" while increasing power output and reduce knee pain.

When I saw these new products I was immediately reminded of the old Biopace chain ring system that was marketed by Shimano in the 1980's. At the time I seem to recall that the Biopace system didn't really stand the test of time and was eventually dismissed as more of a fad than a legitimate innovation.

Biopace - the one that started eliptical chain rings - far less radical than the O.Symetric Design

 While the Biopace rings faded into the sunset, the companies selling these new wattage-boosting chain rings provide lots of data to support their claims for improved rider performance. Team Sky ran the O.Symetric chain rings last season and Bradley Wiggins seems to have been pleased with his results after using them.

The concept for these rings is pretty intriguing to me. If I happen to come across a bike with these rings that has some Keo pedals I might see if I can talk my way into a test ride.

Egypt - A New Beginning

Several weeks ago I posted that we had an opportunity to visit Egypt this past October. We spent two weeks in Egypt and our trip included the following highlights:

Cairo & The Pyramids
The Sphinx & the Egyptian Museum
Karnak Temple
Valley of the the Kings
A week-long cruise on the Nile River
Komombo Temple
Aswan
The City of Hurghada and snorkeling in the Red Sea
St. Catherines Monastery (location of the Burning Bush)
Hiking up Mt. Sinai for see the sunrise
The City of Alexandria & the Mediterranean Sea.

For both of us this was without a doubt the trip of a lifetime and the opportunity to experience the culture of this vibrant, ancient middle-eastern country was memorable and life changing. What we couldn't have possibly imagined at the time of our trip was that in a matter of a few short months Egypt would experience an historic uprising and peaceful revolution which hopefully promises a better quality of life for its people.

Egypt was peaceful and welcoming to us during our visit but there were signs that many people were not happy with their lot in life and that the desire for change was very strong. Many Egyptians we talked to acknowledged corruption in the government and the lack of opportunities for the shrinking middle class and the growing lower class. High unemployment and a low standard of living were evident nearly everywhere we visited in this country which contrasted sharply with its rich history and substantial natural resources.

These are uncertain, yet exciting times for Egypt and my thoughts and support are with the Egyptian people as they work toward creating a fair government which will offer the opportunity for a much better standard of living.

The LevyDrome

The temps were unbelievably cold yesterday and when I pulled into work the thermometer in my car read -8 degrees! Wow! Even if my thermometer was off a few degrees there is no denying the weather outside was beyond frigid.

Fortunately my evening plans included a group spin at the LevyDrome. Our hosts, Dave & Cathy, have graciously welcomed a group of us to their home a few times each week during this long, cold winter to ride our trainers while watching cycling videos. The group setting is s great motivator and the social contact with our cycling friends is a major bonus while logging some saddle time in preparation of Spring.

Last night we had a full house of 8 riders and we watched a great Sufferfest video that Ted brought along to share with the group. Under the watchful eyes of Maya, a black lab who keeps watch on us all to make sure no one is slacking, we had a nice, hard workout that included climbing some great mountain passes with a the pro peloton.

This weekend promises warmer weather with Sunday's temps expected to reach the mid 40's. This will feel like a heat wave compared to what we experienced earlier in the week. I'm thinking an outdoor ride will be a required activity.

The Ice Storm Cometh

For most of this week the weather folks had been forecasting freezing rain and potential power outages. It turns out that they knew what they were talking about. The rain and sleet began falling early yesterday afternoon and by around 6:00 or so there was a shiny layer of ice covering everything.

As darkness fell in my neighborhood I began hearing distant tree limbs snap under the weight of freezing ice and there were a couple of loud pops followed by bursts of green light as transformers failed, adding to the power outages in Central Ohio that currently effect over 50,000 homes.

Late last night I received a phone call and was told my office was under a Level 3 weather emergency so I did not have to make the precarious drive to work. Under normal conditions I drive an hour to my office and I can only imagine how long my commute would have been today. I'm sure it will still be a white knuckle drive tomorrow morning.

I heard someone on the local news say Ohio's groundhog did not see his shadow this morning so we will have an early Spring. I sure hope so.

Wilderness Lodge Wattsburg, PA

This past weekend Amy and I headed east to Wattsburg, PA for a weekend of cross country skiing with Terry Smith, Glenn Beachy and a nice sized group of other COP'ers at Wilderness Lodge This year I believe we had about 34 folks in our group which made for a fun weekend.

Some of the group out on the trails

We were on the road early Friday morning and had smooth travels until we crossed into Pennsylvania and neared Erie. As the snow began falling and the road grime started to cover the windshield we realized the windshield washer on the drivers side was not working. A few extra stops along the way to clean off the windshield resulted in only a short delay and we arrived at Wilderness Lodge early Friday afternoon in plenty of time to get out on the trails for a few hours.

I've made the trek to Wilderness Lodge many times over the past 10 years or so and this year's snow conditions were among the very best I have ever seen. All the trails were groomed and there was tons of fresh, white powder. This year my friend Mike Rebuck and Cheryl, his fiancee also joined us on the trip. Mike is an old KA team mate of mine who now lives in Harrisburg. We had a great time and it was really great to catch up.

Mary Maloney & Mike Rebuck showing how it's done

On Saturday we spent most of the day out on the trails, including an early morning ski through the woods in time to watch the sun rise - very nice! After we finished up skiing on Saturday we joined all the COP'ers for a big spaghetti dinner. After dinner the group played cards, sat by the fire, listened to the music provided by two musicians in our group, or listened to Nancy (the original inn proprietor) share her stories and the history of the lodge in her Welsh accent.

Terry Smith, Glenn Beachy and Nancy pose by the fire

We enjoyed great music on Saturday evening

On Sunday morning Amy and I took snow shoes and hiked through some wooded trails that were freshly covered with the snow fall from the night before. We then had breakfast (pancakes and french toast with real maple syrup) before packing up and hitting the road that afternoon. On the way home we stopped and I was able to unclog the windshield washer using a sewing needle Amy had in her glove box. This made for a much easier drive home.

Snowshoeing on fresh powder

Good times and good friends made for an excellent weekend. I can't wait to go back next year!

Cyclocross Dudes

These xtranormal videos always make me smile:

Nice Weekend!

This past weekend was a bit too cold for me to get out and ride. However, I’m sure a few a few of my friends braved the elements on Sunday since the roads were dry and sun was shining. On Saturday I put in a few trainer hours and then took Sweetie out that evening to see a movie and then have dinner at J.Gilberts. Both the movie and dinner were great and the company, as usual, was terrific (at least for me).

On Sunday we decided to hike around Highbanks for a few hours so we could get outside and enjoy the sunny day. While hiking along the trails we saw a few folks cross country skiing and we were a bit envious since we left our skis at home.

A nice view along the river during our Highbanks hike

Speaking of cross country skiing, some friends of ours went out to Colorado over the holidays to enjoy the trails and made it into the Dispatch:

It’s nice to have famous friends!

I noted in an earlier post that I have taken the 30 day Face Book-free challenge (a challenge of my own making). About halfway there and so far so good! No shakes or physical withdrawals of any sort. There have been a few Face Book stories in the news this past week that caught my eye regarding violations of people’s privacy. One odd story is about someone who hacked e-mail accounts to gather compromising photos that were then posted as the victim's person’s profile picture.

Tour Down Under

Normally by this time in January I’ve had my fill of winter (even though much more of it is usually headed our way). I begin to wonder if spring and the start of the outdoor cycling season will ever arrive. Last night at the Levydrome Tom gave my spirits a lift when he mentioned to our group that the Tour Down Under begins this weekend with coverage starting Sunday afternoon on Versus at 5:00 pm. When bike racing begins on Versus I start to feel like spring can’t be too far away. The actual stage race begins next week but there is a race event on Sunday that will raise money for victims of the recent flooding in Queensland.

This year’s Tour Down Under is expected to be the last Protour event for Lance Armstrong. Although I discarded my membership card to the Lance Armstrong fan club a number of years ago, I must admit it will interesting to see him ride in the final major road race of his career.

On the local scene there are rumors of groups planning to get out this weekend for a bit of cross country skiing, including some folks Mark Wilson reported may be heading out to Slate Run. Sweetie and I are making the annual pilgrimage to Wilderness Lodge with COP in the near future for what always proves to be a fun weekend of camaraderie and cross country skiing so it would be nice to get out on the trails ourselves this weekend.

The Revenge of White Death

As retribution for making fun of yesterday's panic over the snow forecast, Mother Nature gave me a payback when I traveled to Cincinnati and Southern Indiana for work this morning. From the time I left the house until I exited onto I-74 near the Ohio border the roads seemed pretty decent as long as you drove with a bit of caution. But after crossing into Indiana I-74 came to a stop in both directions due to truck accidents.

A Fed-Ex truck jackknifed on a bridge in the opposite direction I was traveling and I can only imagine how long people in those lanes ended up waiting before the accident was cleared. In the direction I was traveling there was also a truck accident that brought us to a standstill less than 5 miles from the exit for my appointment. The delay lasted about 30 minutes. The worst part for me was that I noticed after we stopped that my gas gauge was near empty (not unusual for me) and the fuel light came on. Each time we stopped I would turn off the engine and hope I had enough fumes to make it to the next exit where gas was available.

Someone even put up a sign so we would know why we were sitting still on the freeway for 30 minutes

My last Indiana appointment today was in Greensburg and on my way back towards Ohio around lunch time it was smooth sailing. Was happy to arrive back home safe and sound.

I was able to make it to the Levydrome last night so no workout is planned for this evening. Looking forward to relaxing after a long day in the car.

White Death

As I write this early morning post our first "white death" of 2011 seems imminent, although the expected total accumulation looks to be a bit less than previously predicted. 2-4 inches of snow are in the forecast right now which is lower than the 4-6 inches predicted on the news last night. On the news this morning they said the top three items people buy at the grocery store before a snowstorm are milk, bread and ketchup. Ketchup? Really?

Was originally planning to attend the weekly spin session tonight at the Levydrome, but not sure that the timing will work out if the snow falls. Normally I barely make the 6:00 start time when coming from work and I would expect the roads to be chaos if we receive any more than a dusting of snow. Might be a another evening on my home trainer.

I'm trying to get motivated a for a trainer session as I look outside to see the fresh snowfall we received last night. Probably less than an inch fell overnight but it was enough to give the outdoors a nice, wintery appearance.

I think my training partner today will be Gilbert Duclos Lasselle as he makes a run on DVD at the 1992 Paris Roubaix. Hopefully I can hold his wheel to the end of the race.

One quick item to share before I ready myself for the trainer:

Mark Wilson's cycling blog will continue to amuse, inform and entertain for 2011! I'm new to Mark's blog and for my money it is the best one going in Central Ohio. Many area cyclists look forward to his entertaining photos and group ride observations throughout the year. Earlier this week Mark issued a challenge to his readers to check in and comment or he would shut things down. Mark has a flair for writing interesting, witty and entertaining entries that my blog lacks so I was pleased to read that he received enough replies to continue posting.

It was 20 years ago today...

Well, maybe not to the day, but earlier in the week I was digging through my attic and found my old collection of cycling magazines, including an old Winning magazine from January of '91. I subscribed to Winning magazine for a number of years and it is great to look back at the time capsule of cycling memories they contain. A few years ago I posted an article about a new yound rider from Austin Texas who had a great deal of promise. I would say he reached his potential and then some.

Back in '91 Greg Lemond was just coming off two dominant years in the TdF and riders like Gianni Bugno and Miguel Indurain were coming to prominence.

Looking back to that era I don't see much in the way of cycling gear or equipment that really gets me too excited. It is hard to imagine that the Sidi mountain bike shoes shown below would have ever been a "must have" item.

Winning Magazine expressed optimism for the year ahead in 1991 with news that Motorola would sponser the former 7-11 team and the Dupont Company would step up to take over the former Tour de Trump. But there was also an editorial about the potential dangers of a new drug from Amgen called EPO which was beginning to be used by some endurance athletes, including cyclists.

I'll try to share more images from my cycling magazine timecapsules as time permits.

To Facebook or not to Facebook?

I shared in an earlier post that the social media phenomenon contributed to my neglect of Sprocket during the past year. After several of my friends asked “Are you on Facebook?” I succumbed to curiosity and created an FB account.

Initially FB was pretty cool. On a positive note I reconnected with several old friends and acquaintances including a few folks I have not been in touch with since high school. FB has also given me the opportunity to share photos and stories with friends I see on regular basis. So then, what’s the problem?

The older I get the more uneasy I become with big organizations that seem to become more intrusive in our lives. Each week I read about ways in which FB can allegedly gather and use personal information without the approval of its members. That bothers me a little bit. One step I took to control this potential problem is to remove as much personal information from my FB profile as possible.

I had someone “de-friend” me because I was an FB friend with someone that person didn’t like (Huh?). Someone also lifted some pics of me off my page and use them in a way that I wasn’t very pleased about. All in all these are not a big deal but they are distractions I think I can live without.

So, I have decided to keep my FB account but commit to 30 days of Face book-free living and I’ll see if I miss out on anything important between now and early February. Something tells me I’ll make it through the next 30 days just fine. In the meantime I'll try harder to keep the old blog current.

Old School Columbus Racing Pics

1972 Junior State Track Championship at the long gone Murphy Raceway in Powell.(Photo from Doug Siple's Photostream)

When I was in college in the mid 80's I briefly dabbled in racing with very unremarkable results. At that time I joined Franklin Bicycle Club (FBCI) and tried my hand at a few weekly "C" races on the old Alum Creek course near Worthington. I lived just north of Graceland Shopping Center and would pedal my Raleigh touring bike to the Dairy Queen on High Street to meet up with other racers and then ride up to the course. After typically getting dropped during my race I would hang out at the finish line to watch the "real" racers finish before riding back home.

During one race the solid rear axle on my Raleigh split in half and I became aware of the failure when I began hearing ball bearings fall onto the pavement. Fearing I was stranded I asked Mike Lane, who was a mechanic with his brother Dennis at Northland Schwinn in Clintonville, what I should do and he said I could ride the bike home as long as I didn't put too much pressure on the pedals. Somehow I made it home and Mike eventually replaced the failed axle with a chrome moly axle and quick release skewer.

I've always had really fond memories of those days and remember watching guys like Randy Dull, Tym Tyler, Glenn Groves and Dean Carson dominate the "A" races. A number of FBCI alum are still actively riding or racing and it is fun to run into them from time to time. So I was really excited to stumble across Doug Siple's Photostream album a few weeks ago and to see all the terrific old cycling pictures he has posted including a fantastic folder with FBCI images. Each time I check in to see Doug's pictures there are a few more added so I think I'll be a regular visitor from now on.

These pictures are a real treasure trove. If you remember "Team Punk", "Ten Speeds Bicycle Store" or have any interest or memories of Columbus cycling from days gone by you need to check out these great images!

Welcome New Year!!!

I guess the first day of 2011 is as good a time as any to revive the 'ole blog. This past year I became distracted with some of the social media sites out there and regular posts (well, nearly any posts at all)to Sprocket Rocket were neglected. Hopefully I can stay on track this year share comments about activities during what I feel will be a pretty fun year.

2010 was pretty exciting with the highlight being a trip Sweetie and I took to Egypt. We spent two weeks in a fascinating part of the world and I'll try to share pictures and details in the near future.

I was fortunate to meet great new cycling friends this past year while also enjoying some terrific riding adventures with good friends I have been fortunate to know for several years. Spring is only a few months away and I look forward to riding as much as time allows in the year to come.

That's all for now. Happy New Year to everyone!

More to come (I promise!!!).