Have You Seen This Bike?

A bicycle, especially one which the owner has spent time and money setting up just so, is a very personal possession and its theft is that much more aggravating. The word went out in my club to be on the lookout for this one-of-a-kind fixie which was swiped recently in downtown Pasadena.

What I Should have Learned as a Boy Scout

Be prepared! They aren't kidding, and neither should you. I left home the other morning with the idea of getting in a short ride before work. I always keep a couple of tubes in my big bag, along with a patch kit and frame pump (empty CO2 canisters don't help much). So I got a flat. Not your everyday, garden variety pinhole, but what looked, upon extraction, like a two inch segment of stiff (aluminum?) wire. I check and there are two holes that I can see on the inside surface of the tube, so probably at least one more on the other side.

I replace it with the brand new one from my bag, and pump. And pump. And pump.....One would think that minimally, a tube ought to hold some air, but not in this case. No worries, I have another. Only it turns out that I hadn't checked carefully when I put it in the bag and it turned out to be a 26.0x1.25 mountain bike tube!

As it turns out, one can stretch this onto a 700c rim and get it to work - at least long enough to get five or so more miles. This brings up a point about bike parts as commodities. I buy tubes in large batches for the best price I can get and manufacturers make as many as they can as cheaply as they can. But this ain't a BIC pen. If my pen doesn't work I won get stuck out in the middle of nowhere sometime walking home in cycling cleats.

SO, I say check the tubes you carry as spares. Always carry some cash, and paper money makes a decent tire boot.

Internet "Club" Rides

In case anyone is wondering whether rides organized via the net are for real, they are. I haven't been on one, but have met up with two groups about a month apart. The more recent one is much larger, consuming most of the parking at Encanto Park in Duarte. People from a variety of clubs come together on this. I'm not sure who the individuals are, but the people I asked referred to bikeforums.net as the source.

The Criterium

Right now I'm getting ready to race a criterium. This will be a return to racing for me, and I just don't want to be DFL*. This is a fun sort of event which is quite popular in SoCal, essentially a short race on a closed course on the road. Nowadays the length is defined in terms of time, which helps keep events on schedule. Typically lower category and age groups last between 40 minutes and an hour, while some Cat 1 or pro events can be 90 minutes or more. Event organizers usually signal the racers at five laps to go. A lap might only be a kilometer, so breakaways make things interesting and packs get lapped now and then.

Although most courses tend to be table flat, small uphills can add spice. Serious hills are just nasty and shatter pack dynamics. To keep things moving the organizers offer primes (pronounced "preem") where the winner of a lap is given a prize. Spectators sometimes collect cash, and those primes generally produce more interesting results than a can of Cytomax. A crit can be a points race or, better yet a "devil" where the last rider on each lap is removed from competition.

Anyway, training for something this nutty is, in itself, kinda nutty. All that really counts is time spent above lactate threshold, that's where the training begins. This makes things clear and, in its own way, easy.

*D stands for dead, L for last.

High Point

While riding in the Verdugos I met a biker who regularly rode all over the local area and he pointed out something interesting. The peak to the north across La Crescenta was Mount Lukens, which was technically in Los Angeles. That over 5,000' above sea level. This is a classically nice fire road ride which starts at Angeles Crest Forestry Station and just keeps going up. The views of the city below are impressive, on a clearer day they are said to be amazing. Here's the ride:

Mount Lukens from Angeles Crest

PS look for the teepee near "Bee Flat".

Where to Put Things

For a year or so my wife and I have used Carradice SQR saddle bags, with excellent results. Normally I'd never spend so much on on an accessory like this, but the the shear volume and convenience outweigh other considerations. The wife has the Tour, I use a Trax. They both have 16 liters internal volume (two beef/chicken combos at Yoshinoya). The Trax is waterproof, the Tour is made of fabric and has side pockets which have good quality closure mechanisms. The only downside to the Trax is that the side pockets are just nylon nets which can disgorge small dense objects on bumpy roads. They go on and off quickly and with minimal effort.

These things are great for centuries and commuting. I don't have that decision about taking the windbreaker or not. I carry lunch and a change of clothes to work every day. No worries.

Rio Hondo Detour

I hadn't been down to Seal Beach in a while, so with a nice SoCal June gloom condition on I set out. No GPS necessary, I'll just get on the Rio Hondo bike trail and head south to the San Gabriel River trail. The round trip is 78 miles with 60 of those on class one bike trails. Goes very fast. I get past the 10 freeway and find that there's a detour at Lashbrook, and a sign saying it's closed to Rush street. I take Lashbrook down to Garvey and cross the river, thinking I'd pick up a north-south street down to Rush. Turns out, that Rush doesn't go through and only the entrance to the trail on the east side is usable. Of course there was only the detour sign indicating that you need to leave the trail, no other help.

So, here's how to do it (I think). Heading south on Lashbrook, go right on Garvey and then left on Lee which is the last street before crossing over the river. Then right on Rush and back onto the trail. If you,d rather use a major thoroughfare Rosemead south also works, and if you're aiming for the SG river trail you can just stay on it to Durfee.