As seen in Aspen

ASU themed cruiser bike with standard ski rack tube.

Church of the Sweet Ride

As seen on a crazy pink longtail bike at a local cyclocross race this fall.  Dig that classy leather and canvas pannier set up front and the mustachio'd handle bar.

Recreational Cyclocrossing

I recently did some recreational cyclocrossing.  What's that?  It's a term coined by our very own -d to describe a road/dirt ride with potential dismounts and a bit of adventure.  For a while now, I've wanted to ride Alpine Road in Portola Valley, CA.  It used to be paved road which was eventually closed off to traffic and maintenance was ceased.  It was used in the past as a good way for road cyclists to get up into the hills while avoiding traffic.  There are some pics on Ray Hosler's website of famous local cyclists like Jobst Brandt and Tom Ritchey riding it in the 80's. Also, it was part of a hill climb time trail series back in 1996.  However, there's not a ton of current information.  Time for reconnaisance.

The road starts out as a graded gravel road.  Nice riding.  Steep in places.  We had a two weeks of rainless weather so I thought it would be pretty good, but there was still peanut butter style mud in the shadows.

Eventually after some switchbacks, you get to this sign.  You can go beyond it and around a small gate.

But don't bother.  The vegetation is so thick and overgrown, you have to take the side trail which is steep, root strewn single track.  Great mountain biking, impossible road biking (be prepared to walk it so bring your mountain bike shoes), challenging on a cross bike, but do-able.

Apparently, it was once attempted in a pickup truck, and here it lies.

After the single track, the road opens up again, gets a little more sunny, and picturesque.

You pop out on Page Mill road, where a right turn takes you west towards the Pacific ocean, and a left turn takes you back down to Palo Alto and the Santa Clara Valley.

If you're on a mountain bike, don't bother to take the road.  Take Montebello Trail instead which should dump you out at Stevens Creek Reservoir.

 

If you take the road down, there's a water spigot outside Foothills park where you can top off.  Because of this, I only carried one bottle on the ride.

In conclusion - if you've got something just a little knobbier than a road bike, you should do this ride.  It's low on traffic, high on nature and scenery and a damn fine way to spend a weekend day. 

Gravity Bikes

Back in August, I dreamed about the ultimate downhill road bike. I was assuming that this bike would also be peddled uphill. Say you didn't assume that. Then you'd end up with something like these nut jobs built for themselves:
They're competing in something called the MaryHill Festival of Speed which is basically a gathering of people (mostly young males) wrapping themselves in leather and helmets and then placing their bodies on wheeled objects that seem to me like carbon fiber skate boards and like-a-bikes and pointing them down a big hill.

Here's a pretty good blog entry on the world's fastest gravity bike. CNC'd aluminum components, gigantic custom motorcycle style disc brakes, and shocks to cushion your ass while you kiss it goodbye.

http://bikeporntour.blogspot.com/2008/10/worlds-fastest-g-bike.html

Of course, nothing this crazy goes un-Youtubed. I'm sure you can do some good research there.

Picture from bikeportland on flickr.

The lunatics are on the grass

Went down to Watsonville, CA a little while ago to watch a cyclocross race. They were in the 'cross spirit.

Cowbells on every lamp post.

But not such big fans of veldrijden.

IT Clips - reduce, reuse, restrain

That's it.  Little, yellow, different.  No, we're not talking about Nuprin, we're talking about the IT Clip.  It's just a bit of plastic that makes your discarded inner tubes into a tie down strap.  They also make a model with hooks for bungee-style applications.  Check them out at http://www.it-clips.com/

Apparently the only place to get them is McGuckin's Hardware store, the greatest hardware store on earth.  Go to their website and click on 'Colorado Companies'.

Photo from http://www.it-clips.com/

Mountain Town Bike Shop

All the famous bike bloggers like to pump up their favorite shops, and we here at nippleworks are no different. Take this example from Belgium Knee Warmers.

Here's a mountain town shop that is sure to impress. Paco's Bike and Ski.
Now, there are plenty of bike shops in ski towns that switch to renting mountain bikes in the summer and can sell you a pair of gloves or a helmet if you forgot yours. But, how many can do this:

That's real selection. In the dead of winter, they had three complete Campagnolo brake/shifter cable sets. Does QBP even have that? Even when most people have snow on their minds, they can still help you out. And speaking of snow, they're one of the most complete nordic skiing shops I've ever seen with real expertise, clothing and gear for cross country and back country skiing. The best way to stay in shape when the ground is covered in snow.

Also, they've got a good selection of local trail maps which point out great mountain biking or skiing routes.

Check them out if you're ever passing through, or enjoying Truckee, CA.