Friday, March 30, 2012

Steel WÜl Trivia - 1987


photo by Andrew Carroll

Question:

What Santa Cruz bike shop sold lugged Team Fuji's with Suntour Sprint?

Answer:
The Dutchman - some folks might know the building as the former Paradise Surf Shop.

Peter Flanders once again with the answer.

Hint- Don't be fooled by the blue Spokesman Team jersey that Hugh gave me. If memory serves me correctly this was the day that AC and I went to clipless pedals.

Emergency Training - everyone does it....



Emergency Training aka - secret training, solo training, Yosemite training, last minuet training, oh my god I better start training training, wind-trainer training, roller training, and my favorite version is Andrew Carroll's midnight urban assault after everyone is in bed training.

For the first time in over a decade I found myself doing some "repeat" training. Even though this goes against every grain in my post racing body, it just felt like the right thing to do and I actually enjoyed it, however I still can't shake my bad memories of doing 6 10-minute intervals per Rob Parson's on Old Mount Madonna with Shane Kleopfer. I ended up out on Swanton Road and did a quadruple loop. The Conservation Crew that was working at the Casa Verde Cal Poly office thought I was lost.


Rules:

-Emergency Train a maximum of 3 times a year
-always go solo -no matter what
-get permission to ride first (this makes for a better return)
-pick your route well ahead of time so the mind doesn't wonder and get weak
-pick a route you are well familiar with
-avoid heavily traveled roads
-never end on a bad note
-always pick a loop never an out and back (yellow line fever)
-each loop should be faster than the previous
-don't ever admit you are on an Emergency Training ride if confronted


The following situations would call for Emergency Training:

-you spend more time changing diapers then changing chamois
-your bike has cobwebs on it
-your shorts are too big and jerserys are too small
-your leg warmers are starting to slip down
-your h2o bottles are growing things
-you have to loosen the straps on your helmet
-you claim the reason you got chipped on the Saturday ride was because BJM was there

Monday, March 26, 2012

Peter Green - picked Les Paul over Bob Jackson



Our LP player is out of service at the moment so I had to listen to some Peter Green via the inter-web. He and Jeff Beck always remind me of the legendary road racers of the 60's and 70's. If you think about it they lived very similar lives as the racers of the Merckx and De Vlaeminck era. They were all born within months of each other. They all had incredible talent which took them all over the world as they reached superstar status. Their original style is timeless as every generation has mimicked them ever since. Peter taught Clapton and Page a thing or two about playing while using a 1959 Gibson Les Paul.

His lyrical inspiration is obviously from cycling:

'I can't help about the good shape I'm in
I can't sing, I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to'

Who said that? Tom Simpson?

Steel WÜL Trivia - Hellyer Park

Question:
Name these two cyclists.

Answer:
Greg LeMond & Smilin' George Mount

Peter Flanders and Peter Johnson with the correct answer.


photo by Jobst Brandt



George


LeMond was pushed into the barrier by the Belgian De Marteleire and he was subsequently relagated to 2nd at the Worlds in Argentina 1979 allowing Greg to pull on the wool World Champ jersey.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Big Wave Promoter: looking to hair for inspiration

As Mavericks swell window comes to an end on March 31st promoters seek out surf-able hairdos for the first annual finger board surf contest.


This pedal pusher has got to be a finalist. Thank god for male pattern baldness!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Rules of engagement by Sir Eddy Price......

Folks- Don't ever question a Price when it comes to cycling.

The large group that cycle in formation through Aptos every Saturday morning around 8:30 am appears well organized-but it is not. The riders gather from disparate origins at O’Neil’s near the yacht harbor each Saturday at 8:00 am for a 40 to 85 mile ride that is fixed by tradition. They are bound by no written rules, they carry no clipboards, they hear no whistles, and no one is in charge. They live instead by an unwritten code more stringent than anything that could be put on paper. This unwritten code of conduct extends to behavior; ride a straight line, don’t overlap someone’s rear wheel, stop at all signs and lights, ride to the right of the roadway, and point out hazards on the road to others, the code extends to safety; ride single file, wear a helmet, don’t brake suddenly, never lead unless you know the way and finally, the code extends to attire; wear cycling shoes, shorts, jersey, gloves and of course a helmet.

Thus, when a neophyte appears and violates any part of the code, peer pressure is unleashed. One such person wobbled in on an old Peugeot cycle with aerobars several years ago, demonstrating an earnest desire to ride with the best, but showing he knew little about how to dress for the occasion. As he rode through the peleton (moving formation of cyclists), mutterings from the group yielded such labels as “”warning”, “danger” and “hazard”. But safety was not the issue, appearance was. This neophyte was wearing jockey shorts under his Lycra bike shorts and the outline of his undergarment showed through for all to see.

This was more than the unofficial “monsignor” (Kelly Robinson) of the group could handle. The normally mellow and docile “old man of cycling” or OMK (Old Man Kelly) who always had an encouraging word for the new rider in the group blurted out “panties in the pace-line”. The phrase was picked up by others in the group and it spread like wildfire through the pack. In time, the violator became acquainted with his transgression and took corrective measures, but it was too late. Even after becoming an accomplished rider, even to the point of challenging the most experienced riders on the hills of San Andreas road, he had earned a nickname that stuck early and would never be removed. He is now and will be forevermore known as Underwear Man.

-Eddy Price

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Eastside's Peace Man - hard at work / play



We stopped to enjoy some of Peace Man's wonderful work on the eastside. We thought about asking him to mock up a SW for us, then quickly realized that he obviously has bigger fish to fry.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

'The Pedaling Man' Cricket Magazine April, 1976

Mama WÜleur stumbled upon a stack of Cricket books from the 70's at our school book swap and Olive and I immediately discovered the 'Pedaling Man' by Russell Hoban. It made us think of a certain Steel WÜleur who pedaled his bike from Paris to Brest and back in the wind and weather.

The Pedaling Man

We put him on the roof and we painted him blue,
And the pedaling man know what to do-
He just pedaled, yes he pedaled:
He rode through the night with the wind just right
And he rode clear into the morning,
Riding easy, riding breezy, riding
Slow in the sunrise and the wind out of the east.

A weather vane was what he was-
Cast-iron man with sheet-iron propeller, riding a
Worm gear, holding a little steering wheel,
Iron legs pumping up and down-show him a
Wind and he'd go. Work all day and
All his pay was the weather. Nights, too,
We'd lie in bed and hear him
Creak up there in the dark as he
Swung into the wind and worked up speed,
Humming and thrumming so you could
Feel it all through the house-
The more wind, the faster he went, right through
Spring, summer, and fall.

He rode warm winds out of the south,
Wet winds out of the east, and the
Dry west winds, rode them all with a Serious iron face. Hard-nosed, tight-mouthed
Yankee-looking kind of an iron man.
"Show me a wind and I'll go," he said.
"I'm a pedaling fool and I'm heading for weather."
The weather came and he kept on going, right into
Winter, and the wind out of the north and no letup-
We lived on a hill, and wind was what we got a lot of.

-Russell Hoban

Steel Wul Trivia - NCL

Question:
Name 5 Santa Cruz County cyclists who raced in the infamous National Cycling League (NCL).

What is the NCL?
In July of 1991 Peter O'Neil introduced the NCL to America with the inaugural race in San Diego. With Santa Cruz being a mecca for road racers we had our fair share in that race. He organized the teams through cities modeled after the NFL or NBA and they would travel through out the US racing criterium style crowd pleasers and each rider was paid $500 to $2,500 per race. It was the US version of kermese racing.


I will give you the easy one:

1. Freddy Markham
2. Andy Paulin
3. Ed Goulet
4. Mike Batton
5. Brian Marks
6. Matt Morris

Friday, March 16, 2012

Steel Wül Trivia - Multi-Discipline Worlds

Question:
Name the American who has competed in 4 different disciplines of the World Cycling Championships.

Answer:
The late great Steve Larsen

Steve represented the US at the World Pro Road Race, World Pro MT. Bike Cross Country, World Pro Cyclocross, World Pro Track Team Pursuit, and as an added bonus he did the World Championships Ironman in Kona.

Steel Wüleur Kev McGill posted the correct answer.

My last memory of Steve was on the Santa Cruz Saturday Ride and he was sporting his Motorola kit with Brent Marks.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Post-Pedal Neuro Synaptic Recal


I am going to name this one 633K (thats how many feet the ride was)

A neuron (play /ˈnjʊərɒn/ NEWR-on; also known as a neurone or nerve cell) is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling.

Have you ever had one of those rides that just sticks with you for days, weeks, months? You know the kind I am thinking of - the ones that you can recall upon which put a huge smile on your face. Well I had one of those recently and for some reason I felt inspired to retrace my entire ride with my eyes shut using a ball point pen and some scratch paper. It was strangely satisfying to retrace every road, turn, and hill blindly from memory. I sat down and taped a few sheets of paper together, closed my eyes and relived the ride again. If you have a favorite ride hidden in your hippocampos somewhere please share it with us.


Remember- Ion Channels and Adenosine triphosphate keeps us pedaling our bikes


ATP

Sunday, March 11, 2012

The Levy the Water & the Windmill


View of Henrietta Peak on Lone Tree Rd. (3,626')

Only miles to San Luis Reservoir from top of Henrietta Peak

AC and I revisited Lone Tree Rd for the first time in 20 years (almost to the day) and forgot how desolate it is out there. The last time I rode this peak I was with Joe Pettinger, Ryan Barrett, Ian Carver, and James Newman. This ride is used by BJM to tighten up the belt in the winter months. I know some Steel Wüleurs that will absolutely dig this boogie. This is going to the front of the SW ride list!


Steel Wül Musette report:

(2) croissant cream cheese / strawberry sandos (homemade)
(2) Peanut Butter Cliff
(1) Coca Cola
(1) chicken taco
(2) chocolate chip cookies
(1) almond snicker bar
(1) peanut butter snicker bar
(1) goo (shoulder tapped AC for that one)
(3) bottles h2o
(1) Gatorade
(1) bag of Sea Salt Chips

After looking at these numbers, I would be lucky to have zeroed out those calories. Good thing it was a buck 20+. Know wonder my stomach was feeling a little "funny".

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Happy Birthday Sista Wüleur


photo op - on a needed break from our calzone fest (13)


Happy 40th to my sister Megan Grenier. She was the one that taught me how to hop the 54A out of Aptos in 84' and take that bad boy to the Capitola Mall and buy a 1/4 pound of mini cookies from the Cookie Cupboard. The feeling of freedom we got from that 20 min bus ride was almost as good as the day we discovered we could pedal our bikes all the way to Kamian's Pharmacy at the Deer Park Mall and buy as much candy as we could fit in our pockets. To this day anytime I hear Talking Heads, Steel Pulse, or UB40 it makes me think of her. I remember bragging to my friends that my sister hangs out at Mr. Toots coffee and she might take us with her. She was always one step ahead of anyone her age.


For the record:
A Metro ride is still only 2 bucks.


Friday, March 2, 2012

King Cage - in a word.............Simple!

Check out Ron Andrews (owner of King Cage) make one of his indestructible bottle cages (stainless & Ti) at the 2012 NAHMBS. I would like to see a carbon cage manufacturer punch one out without using a respirator or glue in 42 seconds. I have roughly 75K miles on my King Ti cages and they look the same as the day I bought them and I've never lost a bottle. Unfortunately for Ron you will only need to purchase them once.

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