"Well, it's a piece of junk"

Yeah, Dave Stoller, maybe it was a piece of junk.......but it was the rider that won the race.

I was thinking today about how some of us have become weight obsessed.....or just obsessed......with our cycling equipment.

After this morning's time trial to the snow, one of the riders out there racing was riding an all-steel bicycle and placed second. He was jamming!(Way to go Roy!). His bike, I am guessing by looking around, was probably the heaviest one out there. It included a triple chainring, and nothing really fancy....except the frame itself. Around him was a titanium/carbon fiber beauty, plenty of carbon fiber speedsters, aluminum lightweights......but no steel bicycles, except for his.

Have you ever noticed that some of the best riders out there in our district are not riding $8,000 super bikes? In fact, many are not riding $5,000 super bikes. And one rider in particular does quite well out there on a steel frame with cross levers on the bars. Looking around, and getting knowledge and information from these guys, you start to realize what all of us really know anyway - that it's not all about the equipment......that shaving 100 grams on a crankset, or 80 grams on a new pedal system, might be good for the noggin. But it's really those 100-mile rides, those 80-mile mountain epics, and those lunch hour sprinterval sessions(or in Bill's case, his every morning hill climb - Awesome job Bill!) that make us better, more efficient, more skilled riders.

And in that respect, it comes to this - I love bicycles....and I lust after many pieces of art(yeah, Lori doesn't call those bicycles art just yet.......but give her time.). But I know that, in the end, it comes down to the one thing we all love to do - riding.

So, anyway, I need to go dust off my 28-pound 15-year old steel LeMond........have to see if I can beat Roy's time on that thing at tomorrow's snow time trial!!