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Tough at the Track

January 9, 2007 on 5:35 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

My roommate in college, Simon, was a Brit through and through.  We’d be headed out to a race out of town, and on the long car trips to go do battle with the NorCal hardman cycling brigades, he’d regal us with stories of Euro-racing as a youth.

in truth, Simon was a true roadie and northern hardman. He would descend in bicycle races with his hands tucked behind his seat and his chin at the bars. Can you imagine going downhill at 40+mph with nothing but your face first? It would scare the crap out of his competitors.

When I first started racing track at Morley Field, I was a softie. It was scary having one gear and going head-to-head that close. Sure, I was a solid criterium racer, which is a rough and tumble street race, but the track was a different ballgame. One gear, no brakes, all guts.

Before I would head out to a difficult task whether it was a wild night out, or another gut check kind of experience , Simon would always ask me one simple question: “are you tough at the track?” It was his polite way of saying pull up your skirt nancyboy and get the job done and reassuring me I could make it happen. Due to some hard work and support from guys like Simon, I got a podium placing at virtually every event that year.

And,  I found if you can master the track with all the elbow scraping, wheel bumping, cursing and yelling, you actually start to enjoy it. A lot.

Well, is 2007 your year of being tough at the track? It is for me and I hope it is for you.

 

Commutin’ thru the zone

August 18, 2006 on 4:24 pm | In Uncategorized | 3 Comments

I wanted to get some good cycling miles in my legs. So, I thought it would be a good idea to ride to work yesterday. One quick trip to Yahoo Maps, and my route was set. LA has been an unexpected bounty of sublime mtn biking in the San Gabriels, discovery of a die-hard roadie crowd, and the realization that the words “LA” and “I am a cyclist” indeed have Venn diagram overlap. Any residual Bay Area cycling snobbery is officially dead.

Anyway,  I had a route, a mission, and the need for some pain in my legs.  A range of LA grid diversity was there to explore. Starting past the $1 million suburban McMansions in Stevenson Ranch was nice - Starbucks (couldn’t be local in the grid). At 6 am, I was pumping up and over Newhall Pass…Wilderness….Gun Club… Freeway Underpass…Industrial Ctr. All in the first 8 miles.

Then comes a trip through Pacoima and San Fernando and straight into the heart of an Enterprise Development Zone. At 7 am, it was me, my 17 lb scandium wonderbike, cement trucks, and sleepy factory workers starting their day.

On the transition to Burbank, I was firmly riding into the LA we all believe in - past the large studios, hot cars, hotter moms, and the assorted staff going to make media magic.

Free capp courtesy of work, quick shower (bonus work perk) and on email by 7:45 plugged in and working the grid.

I still get a distinctly subversive vibe from riding to work and it reminds me of going to my first post grad corporate job in SF’s Financial District, pulling into the underground garage and having all the execs giving me the big thumbs up. They always loved the bike messenger imitation.  

got a more intense commute to work? I’d love to hear about it…