Now all I need is a monkey

He may not know it, but I encounter Carl Fogel, an authority on early bicycles, several times a week in my listserv wanderings. He sticks to business with humor and shares masterpieces like this. Fogel first came to my attention when I stumbled across Ted.

Jules Verne never imagined

The Guardian reported yesterday that Mark Beaumont had successfully completed his cycling circumnavigation and blown 91 days off the old record. Though cycling through Istanbul was "without comparison is the scariest cycling I have ever done," it appears the only place Beaumont was hit by a car was in Louisiana. Maybe David Zabriskie is on to something.

My day at the speedway

The roar of engines is interminable at Lowe's Motor Speedway just outside of Charlotte, N.C. I spent five hours at the facility's media center this afternoon at a time-trial seminar sponsored by the Carolina Cycling Time Trial Association. For $27.50, I got a T-shirt and advice from pro mechanics and coaches. I've been to conferences that my employers have paid exponentially more for at which I which I have learned exponentially less. Not ever having participated in a time trial, I wouldn't know one if it bit me in the ass. Nevertheless, it was heartening to learn that I already knew to show up way early, strip my bike of all extraneous crap like bottles and cages and be pissing clear by the time I hit the track as well as the basics, if not specifics, of how to eat on race day (light and balanced). There was lots and lots of stuff I didn't know and probably won't know even if ran the whole season — which I already know I can't. Ignorance aside (or perhaps embraced), I believe that at this very minute I could turn in a time that would not put me last in my age category. We'll see about that. I think a cheapo heart-rate monitor and perhaps some coaching advice are in my future. After all, I want to know how to make the 2100 sound like what I was hearing on the track today.

Better links for Sheldon Brown

I'm probably the last cycling blogger to mention this, but Sheldon Brown, a man I never met and whose online encyclopedia I can no longer imagine living without, died Sunday. Doubtless his death is a huge deal for cyclists but his personal postings reveal an interested and interesting human being. Tales from people who knew him and who are affected even more than I am can be found here. Browse through the discussions or use the search feature.

My newest hero …

Is The Bicycle Tutor, Alex Ramon. Ramon's site has videos showing how to perform bike maintenance and repair along with his concise explanation mostly in voiceover. It appears the site went up in December. Most of the current offerings are very basic — how to change a tire, how to adjust a derailleur and so on. The video arrangement indicates that the guidance will become more complex as time goes on. So far this is all stuff I know but it helps so much to see it and see it again. I breathlessly await the next installment.

The Kilmermobile

I hope that when Marco Facciola becomes my boss that he's merciful. Facciola, 16, has just designed and built an wooden bicycle. Not almost all wood or just a little metal, but wood except where he used glue. It includes a really slick looking ratcheting system intended to keep him from pedalling as he goes downhill. Now that he has finished the bike (a personal project needed for completion of an international baccalaureate curriculum) he plans to "focus on my schoolwork, my part-time job and sports." Since he's not at the office yet I at least have some time to look busy.

Yield to Life indeed

Don't worry: Yield to Life isn't some cryptic attempt to proselytize. In the traditional sense anyway. Time-trial monster David Zabriskie has decided being hit three times by cars was enough. So he's starting a public-education campaign to educate both cyclists and drivers.

Such efforts are not new. The League of American Bicyclists, for instance, talks a lot about cycling safety and works to train members to train the general public about how to ride safely.

Zabriskie's message isn't just share the road, but "to promote positive attitudes toward cyclists and replace any hostility that exists between motorists and cyclists with understanding, respect, and appreciation for all life on the road. Safety for every cyclist is the top priority of Yield to Life."

He, and the rest of us, have a lot of work to do. When I talk with noncycling friends many of them believe bikes shouldn't be on the road. I can usually bend that attitude even if I can't break it. I hope Yield to Life can provide me more ammunition as well as leverage Zabriskie's stardom and experience as someone who understands better than most that going for a ride should not just be a desperate attempt not to die.