Seattle in Cycles

Here is a video I slapped together a while back of my cousin riding Seattle's mean streets.

I am already devising my summer plans and I know they involve Seattle.

This summer I will take a hiatus from my Taiwan cycling to take the show on the road. I will be doing a few weeks in Seattle for family matters and then off to Palm Desert for provisions and a visit with dad. Needless to say, there will be plenty of cycling this time around. I am not taking my bike, but I have bikes to borrow as my cousin, featured in the video above, is a dedicated cyclist. I am not excited about American drivers, who seem to be oblivious to smaller vehicles. In Taiwan the driving is chaotic, but there is an awareness that there may be small vehicles buzzing around. In the US... not so much. I am also concerned about laws. I have heard of people getting ticked for passing cars at stop lights and other crazy stuff. I dunno.

Anyway, if anyone will be in the Seattle or Palm Desert areas during July and August, I would love the chance to ride with you.

March Recap: Spring Riding Photos

Happy Three Day Weekend!!!

Bikes and Beer

Time to break out the beer and enjoy a long weekend with friends, family and Flanders.

The Tour of Flanders is this weekend and Paris-Roubaix next weekend, so the cobbles are calling. My heart is with the Spring classics. They are just brutal in length and ride conditions. There is something "macho" and "masculine" about the Classics; two adjectives that rarely make their way into discussions about cycling. Racers must often battle wet weather, slippery and uneven cobbled roads as well as each other. With equipment getting stupid light these days the chance for catastrophic failure is even more pronounced. This year we even have His Royal Highness Lance Armstrong jumping knee deep in the shit and joining the scrum. LA is often regarded as a princess of the sport for concentrating on only the Tour de France, unlike iron men like Eddy Merckx who fought to win them all; even breaking bones in the process.

Velonews has a great write up of what to expect.

As for myself, I hope to get a windy century ride in to test out the top section of my Hell of the East ride to Kaohsiung on the 24th. I would like to test pace, nutrition and route quality. Afterward I would really like to enjoy a good beer. I just don't drink enough anymore. It messes with my riding too much.

I hope everyone has a safe and productive weekend of friends and cycling.