For the Love of Bikes

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2012 Tour de France–Prologue

June 30, 2012 /

pThe Tour is under way and no surprise that Fabian Cancellara (Radio Shack-Nissan) will start tomorrow’s stage in the yellow jersey after winning the prologue time trial today.  Cancellara annihilated the rest of the field, Bradley Wiggins was second, finishing 7 seconds slower, but with a course this short that’s a big time gap.

Other prologue favorite, Tony Martin (Quick Step), had bad luck when his rear tire flatted forcing him to change out bikes. You can’t recover the time you lose changing out a bike in a time trial. Fortunately for him, he’ll have two more tries to best Cancellara in a time trial.

Sylvan Chavanel (Quick Step) had a phenomenal ride, holding first place until the likes of Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Cancellara knocked him off.

Denis Menchov (Katusha) looked strong and could be a sleeper for a high overall placement.

Wiggins, aka Wiggo, looks strong, confident and loose.

Last year’s Tour champion, Cadel Evans (BMC) had a good time today and is close to his main competitor Wiggo.

Wiggins will be a force to be reckoned with for Evans and other Tour hopefuls.

I was impressed with Evan’s teammate on BMC, T.J. Van Garderen, finishing in 4th place and claiming the white jersey for best young rider.

Prologue Top 15 Finishers:


    • 1. Fabian CANCELLARA, RadioShack-Nissan, in 7:13

    • 2. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, at :7

    • 3. Sylvain CHAVANEL, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, at :7

    • 4. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC Racing, at :10

    • 5. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN, Sky, at :11

    • 6. Brett LANCASTER, Orica-GreenEdge, at :11

    • 7. Patrick GRETSCH, Argos-Shimano, at :12

    • 8. Denis MENCHOV, Katusha, at :13

    • 9. Philippe GILBERT, BMC Racing, at :13

    • 10. Andriy GRIVKO, Astana, at :15

    • 11. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at :16

    • 12. Peter VELITS, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, at :17

    • 13. Cadel EVANS, BMC Racing, at :17

    • 14. Vincenzo NIBALI, Liquigas-Cannondale, at :18

    • 15. Ryder HESJEDAL, Garmin-Barracuda, at :18

Stage 1 Prediction:

Tomorrow’s stage is likely to be won by either Phillip Gilbert (BMC) or Peter Sagan (Liquigas). I’ll put my money on Gilbert.

A Prologue to the 2012 Tour de France

June 28, 2012 /

lacarteIt’s Tour de France time again!

The 2012 version of the Tour starts up Saturday, June 30th in Liege, Belgium – 23 days and 2,148 miles later it will end on the Champs E’lyse in Paris.

In between will be:

*9 flat stages

*9 mountain stages with 3 summit finishes

*2 individual time-trial stages

*prologue (time-trial)

*numerous crashes

*unparalleled sports drama

*and countless displays of courage and athleticism

Relative to the 2011 Tour, this Tour will challenge less through climbing and more through the time-trial abilities of the riders. There will still be plenty of tough climbs obviously in the Pyrenees and Alps, but less grueling than last year.

Which is to say, the climbs will be tortuous but less so than last year. Right…

From my perspective, with two of the best climbers and overall GC contenders out this year (see my TDF Guide for definitions and info on how to follow and understand the Tour) it takes away something from the Tour. Andy Schleck is out because of injuries to his spine sustained in the Criterium du Dauphine when he was blown off his bike during the individual time-trial by a gust of wind. And of course, Alberto Contador, winner of is out because of doping. How is that for bad luck, Schleck’s nemesis on the bike is not allowed to race the Tour this year due to a doping suspension and Schleck can’t take advantage of it due to injury.

Speaking of doping, French team Europcar, is being investigated by French officials for possible doping in last year’s Tour. They are the team of Thomas Voeckler, my favorite Frenchman and one of my very favorite bike racers. Voeckler has been dealing with a knee injury, but is supposed to compete in this year’s Tour along with teammate, Pierre Rolland, who in the not too distant future could be a serious contender for the Tour – something France has not had for a long time – other than Voeckler. Before you laugh, remember Voeckler finished 4th last year.

Pre-race favorites are last year’s winner Cadel Evans, Bradley Wiggins, Vincenzo Nibali, Frank Schleck, Robert Gesink and Ryder Hesjedal among others. One rider that is an American favorite that could figure into the mix for overall GC is Levi Leipheimer. Speaking of Americans, George Hincapie will be racing in his last Tour, a record 17th.

Wiggins looks to be strong and peaking at the right time with a strong team to match. Evans hasn’t had as noteworthy an early season as Wiggins (no one has) but he has as strong a team as Wiggins if not stronger. Both Wiggins and Evans are strong time-trialest too as well as elite climbers.

This year’s Tour seems to be more wide open than in previous years which could make for added excitement. There is always unexpected drama in every Tour and this one will certainly be no different.

Hopefully it will follow last year’s Tour and center around the racing NOT doping.

Always interesting is how the race unfolds, favorites can get injured and go out (Wiggins last year) or a racer you wouldn’t expect to contend for the overall win can step up and threaten to take it away from the favorites (Voeckler last year).

One thing is for sure: there will be great racing, no shortage of crashes and plenty of drama and excitement. Nothing compares to the Tour de France in terms of difficulty. You can catch it all on Versus/NBC sports.

You can also catch a wrap-up of each stage here, just like I did in 2010 and 2011. Check them out, I just re-read last year’s – what an unbelievable Tour that was.

As all those 60+ posts show, I LOVE the Tour de France – Viva le Tour!

 

2011 Tour de France Highlights

Endomondo Interview

June 25, 2012 /

_________________________________________________________________

Ten Questions With: Susan of LoveOfBikes.com

by endoangela on June 25, 2012

Here at Endomondo, we love our users and Susan happens to be one of them. She runs the blog LoveOfBikes.com and was kind enough to answer  a few questions for us.

    1. Can you tell us a little about Love of Bikes? For the Love of Bikes is my website and blog that grew from a longtime love of cycling and bikes. I started blogging about 3 years ago, initially under a different blog name.I write about my bike tours, local and national issues related to biking, rider rights issues (not just those of us that consider ourselves cyclists, but anyone who rides a bike), photos, videos, daily posts on the Tour de France every July (I have to justify the hours and hours and hours of the Tour I watch) and just the joy of biking in general. Recently I took a supported bike tour with a company that gave me a discount on the cost of my tour to write about the ride, I hope to do more of that in the future.All for the Love of Bikes can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
    2. When and why did you decide to make cycling your preferred mode of transportation? I retired from my career several years ago which has allowed me the time and flexibility to use my bike for running errands and doing activities I would have done by car in the past.I don’t commute by bike nearly as much as I would like to but I’m committed to doing it more and more. I definitely enjoy those types of rides. I feel like when I ride my bike in regular clothes to the grocery store or library or downtown to the coffee shop, that other people may see that as something they could do.When we’re clad in spandex I think it makes cycling look like something for athletes only instead of a form of recreation and transportation that most everyone can enjoy—regardless of age or fitness level. That’s one of the great things about biking—just about anyone can do it.
    3. What kind of bike do you ride? My road bike, which is what I ride most of the time, is a 2005 Scott CR1 Pro – all carbon fiber, my commuter/touring bike is a “steel is real” 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite and I also have a 1994 Giant Cadex road bike which I rarely ride and should probably sell but I get attached to bikes so it’s hard to think about selling one.I would like to add a mixte to my cycling corral with more of an upright position for riding in town.I subscribe to the philosophy that the correct number of bikes to own is: [number of bikes currently owned] +1.
    4. What do you love most about cycling? That’s a tough one, but I would have to say it is the freedom I feel when riding. I can be in a funk, or just not in the mood to ride, but by the time I’m 5-10 miles into it I’m having fun and by the end of the ride I’m not ready to stop. That never happens when I run or swim, but it is common with biking.I love the way biking not only transports you physically but it transports you mentally and emotionally too.I also love the experience of riding—the sights, sounds and movement of riding. I love transporting myself with nothing more than my bike and body.
    5. Where is the most beautiful place you’ve ridden? (read on at Endomondo) —-continue reading here

Road Trip and Random Thoughts

June 20, 2012 /

Sadly, this road trip is in our car. We’re going to NE Ohio, so riding our bikes wasn’t exactly practical.

I may be in the car, but I’m thinking about bikes. Could have something to do with the fact that I brought all the biking magazines I haven’t had time to read. Starting off with Adventure Cyclist, Adventure Cycling Association’s main publication. Every issue I’ve ever read is chocked full of good stuff about bike travel and interesting articles too. The magazine is complementary as a member of Adventure Cycling. If you aren’t a member I encourage you to check them out and consider joining. Besides their interesting magazine and infamous bicycle touring maps, they are the type of organization all of us that love bicycling should support.

No, this is not a paid endorsement.  Besides, this post isn’t about Adventure Cycling.

Actually, I’m not really sure what this post is about… surely something related to bikes and biking.

Random Thoughts…

We were able to get three rides in last week, 76 miles total. On one of the rides we saw a tarantula, deer, turkey and a low-flying hawk that guided us on the road for a while. I had my camera with me for 2 of the 3 rides but didn’t end up getting a single shot of any of the wildlife.

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While we’re in the Cleveland area we plan to rent bikes and ride one of the many trails they have. Cleveland gets a bad rap, it is actually a pretty city with 100+ miles of paved bike paths in the city.

Tour de France:

I’ll also work on my annual preview piece about the upcoming Tour de France. I should get it posted up June 29th if not before so check back if you’re a Tour nut like moi. My plan this year is to do what I’ve done the previous two years – write a blog each day for every stage and if the Tour is enthralling (when is it not) I’ll probably write on the rest days too.

Check out my 2010 Tour de France posts (Lance Armstrong’s last) and my posts the on uber-exciting 2011 Tour de France. Can’t see how the 2012 version of the Tour can possibly be as exciting as last year’s but we’ll see. Regardless, there will be thrills and drama and I’ll be watching it all.

Seattle and Sooke, BC:

What a  pleasure it was to bike in Seattle and on the western edge of the Trans-Canada bicycle trail. Of the two areas my experience was that biking had a larger presence in Victoria, BC and the Sooke areas of Vancouver Island then in Seattle. Be it a 4 lane or 2 lane highway, busy boulevard, downtown street or trail people were riding bikes and they had the infrastructure to support them. That infrastructure included marked bike paths/lanes, segregated lanes, paved/unpaved bicycle trails (Trans-Canadian goes across the entire country), ample parking and signage.

There was a significant number of people riding bikes as we drove from Victoria to Sooke.There was a big presence of cyclists in the business and downtown areas of Victoria too. Not surprisingly, there was very little spandex. You could tell cyclists were a normal part of the street scene, an accepted mode of getting around. On the majority of our drive from Victoria to Sooke, part of the road (or nearby trail) was used to accommodate bikes and was marked. We would see a sign that said “bike path ends” only to see another sign, “bike path” just down the road.

I was green with envy. Still am when I think about it.

Seattle was also supportive of cycling through marked lanes, bike paths, signage, parking, etc. Interestingly, helmets are required by law in Seattle and riding on the sidewalk is legal and somewhat common in downtown. I expected to see more people riding bikes than we did. I expected to see less gridlock on the roads than we did.

Part of the reason could be that Seattle is very HILLY. Much hillier than I expected, San Francisco kind of hilly. We stayed in the Queen Anne neighborhood which is known for its steep hills but other parts of Seattle were hilly too – so to summarize: Seattle is hilly!

There were streets that were only stairs taking you from one steep street to another. The street signs were marked with a pedestrian. When I get home I’ll post pictures here of Seattle and Vancouver Island.

Ticket:

I posted the $119 bond for my “disregard of (red) signal light” ticket. My date with the judge is set for July 12th. I had a good conversation with the City Attorney last week, I’m looking forward to explaining my actions to the judge. I’ll let you know the outcome.

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