Excellent news all people, it’s Biketober!
That is simply my third-favorite bike-themed month after Freduary and, uh, Threaded Backside Bracket Shell July, in that order:
[A family delights in a fireworks display celebrating the reliability and simplicity of threaded bottom brackets.]
Along with a brand that appears kinda just like the German flag, Biketober additionally has an occasion calendar:
I used to be most within the self-guided bike rides, since not solely I used to be curious to see what of their work the NYC DOT may probably assume was worthy of highlighting, however I used to be additionally amazed they’d truly ship anybody off into this hellscape on a bicycle on their very own:
Simply kidding:
New York is a beautiful place to discover by bicycle, and whereas it’s at all times potential you may die, the percentages are typically in your favor:
Anyway, the rides all appear good, however clearly they’re not maintaining with the tendencies as a result of extremely there’s just one (1) journey that includes gravel, and that’s the one which goes to Shirley Chisholm Park, which has like ten (10) miles of scrumptious gravel trails:
[“Mmm, gravel.”]
I wish to see New York Metropolis make a severe bid to host the UCI Gravel World Championships at Shirley Chisholm Park. Positive, it’s tiny, it’s not even remotely difficult, they usually’d need to do like 20 laps simply to get warmed up, however the compact course would virtually definitely favor slim bars:
Alas, I’ve solely truly ridden there as soon as, and that was on an tour with the household just a few years again:
My spouse was using the American M-16, which is now again at Basic Cycle:
[Photo: Classic Cycle]
And can also be on sale:
It’s the unique Alumalith:
And lots cheaper.
After all I notice the DOT’s self-guided rides are geared in the direction of regular individuals and never bike freaks, so the emphasis is extra on the town itself, however I do assume they may have highlighted a number of the metropolis’s devoted bike venues, equivalent to Kissena Velodrome:
Making an attempt to race that stunning Fiorelli was one in every of my most harrowing (and embarrassing) moments as a semi-professional Outdated Crap Take a look at Pilot.
Then after all there are the mountain bike trails at Cunningham Park, which have one thing for everybody to the whole novice to the kinds of people that drive there in large silly vehicles and say stuff like “ship it”–and which can also be maybe the best place to journey a non-suspended singlespeed mountain bike on the planet:
I converse with authority, too, since in 2008 I used to be the 183rd greatest singlespeed mountain bike rider in your complete world:
That’s proper, I’ve competed in ironic singlespeed world championships in each Napa, CA and Durango, CO (and Portland if you happen to rely singlespeed cyclocross) and I’ll take Cunningham over these dumps any day. Granted, which will say extra about my very own talents (or lack thereof) and the inherent limitations of one-speed bicycles than it does concerning the virtues of Cunningham, however fuck it, I’m standing by it.
And naturally method uptown (or downtown if you happen to’re me) there’s the a lot smaller and significantly extra daunting Highbridge Park:
There’s about 4 toes of path in there that you would be able to journey on a motorbike just like the one pictured above, and the remainder of it’s fairly difficult, nevertheless it warrants mentioning within the context of a New York Metropolis Biketober for its location alone:
It’s tiny, nevertheless it’s wonderful contemplating it’s truly in Manhattan, and whereas a hapless Biketober celebrant would little doubt wind up going off a ledge and touchdown in a crumpled heap on Dyckman Avenue, it’s solely marginally extra dangerous than these inexperienced issues the DOT has the temerity to name “bike lanes.”
Shifting on, Greg LeMond says the professionals have been completely utilizing motors:
One purpose he thinks so is that there was a interval after they have been making a suspicious variety of bike adjustments:
“Both Shimano and these part producers have been producing such crap, which we all know is just not the case–there’s no purpose to have 5 bike adjustments or six bike adjustments in a stage…”
After all we now know that Shimano was certainly producing whole crap. Additionally, I not watch professional biking recurrently, however I’d think about the transfer to thru-axles signifies that as an alternative of swapping a wheel when a rider punctures it’s simply simpler give them a brand new bike. And as a retrogrouch I wish to imagine disc brakes and batteries are extra finicky, which ends up in annoying rubbing brakes in addition to stuff like this:
However do I additionally wish to imagine they have been utilizing motors of their bikes, so there you go.
Anyway, LeMond clearly is aware of a factor or two about bikes with motors:
Good bike, too unhealthy it has a motor in it.
