Bike polo explained......

.....in video format. Except, I always played it on grass. Must be a California thing.

Little Gregory......

.....warming up to slaughter the field at the 1980 Nevada City Classic. Nice bike Dude. Dig those back-in-the-day Raleighs.

Oh wait, forgot......

.....guess it doesn't have to always come in the $6,000 variety(think this beauty sold for $500). And, right now, if I had to choose between the two of 'em........well.......I'll have to go with my roots. And yes, that's because of the affordability factor! LOL.

Stupid bike lust........

......why does it always have to come in the $6,000 variety???

Yikes.....

.....had to get another image in my head after that article on steroids(see post below).

Hey Geno - remember this poster from way back when.......such sweet tires! Silky smooth. I can't remember exactly, but I think I had this poster up in my room when I was a kid.....next to my Bert Oosterbosch poster. I feel sorta bad for Bert - dead in his 30s. But I also think that's why this is so true.

Uh.....I think this is reason enough.....

.....not to take steroids.

Hey Dylan.....

.....are you selling your extras on Ebay??

I know - Chico Cyclist needs to get a life........

Almost forgot.....

....here are some pics of the new Sierra Nevada Pro Team bikes for the 2007 season. And, they're um, pretty light......almost too light. Well, at least for me. But when you consider that the average Sierra Nevada Pro Team rider weighs about 130 pounds.......this bike is more than enough!

Thanks for the encouragement Olaf......

.......the Nevada City Classic is only 6 months away! And my new training program(see pic above - that's me and Ginger watchin' the Broncos lose again) isn't working at all. Egads!! Need to hit Canyon Oaks this week - it has a nice Nevada City flavor to it - not the houses - but the road gradients. And we have the Code to get in too!
And on a side note, Aaron "Saunier Duval" Olson(the dude in yellow in the pic) is selling his Sidi shoes(in pic). I'm sure he'd autograph 'em for ya too, if you wanted! It was a little too much for me to spend at the moment........still got my eye on this thing. Yeah, I know the season is almost over......but is cross season ever REALLY over???

So, if I race the NC Classic this next year......that would mean......I would be racing against Nolan and Olaf???? Good God. Um....hmmmm. I'll have to re-read this entry again.

So, a couple of weeks ago.......

......we had a meeting with Larry Nolan(in the pic above - with our own Chico Corsa President Geno Gruber. Uh, Geno is the um....well.....he's the um........let's just say, he is shorter than Larry). And man, I was impressed.

Sure, how could you not be impressed when you have a former World Champion come to your town talking about your absolute favorite sport in the whole world? Talking training, technique, tactics, racing, equipment, etc. I mean, what's not to like??? Well, I mean, if you're a bike geek and all.

I've seen Larry race many many times, and he always amazes me. He'll go into a race, and if you watch him - especially in the criteriums - he'll wait, watch, pounce at the perfect moment.....and here is a guy who possesses the speed and ability to lap the field......solo! It's amazing to watch - especially for us Cat. 4 dweebs who couldn't breakaway to save our lives!

But no, that is not why I was impressed with his talk.

During his presentation, Larry started off by saying something that really hit me. This past year, Larry has only taken 5 days off of the bike in total. He actually broke his Patella earlier this year.....but continued to ride......with one leg!! The reason??

It was because of his love for the bike. Here's how he put it, for the most part: "I love bicycling. I love the riding. I love the racing. On the morning of a race, I can't wait to race the race. I love being in the race, watching what happens, taking part in the racing action. And that night, after the race, it's the last thing I think about before falling asleep. I love to ride my bicycle. I don't have tons of time to ride because I work full-time and have a family - but the time I do get to ride is precious. I love it."

That, to me, was motivating. His enthusiasm for the sport really hit me. You wonder why a guy like Larry Nolan is a Cat. 1 who wins - a guy who was Champion of the World?? Because he loves it. And if you read the blog of that other Cat. 1 guy I like to talk about all the time, you get the same sense from him too - he loves it!! There is a type of motivation there that borders on a cycling charisma. It's infectious.

Anyway, I'm blabbing - I'll shut up now.

Ken, you amazed me today.

Here is a link down Memory Lane. All pics belong to Ken Camozzi - thank you Ken! 1982 Chico Criterium - you can see more pics and read more about the race here.

And yeah, I'm in this picture above - I'm the dorky looking one on the Benotto bicycle. I was known to the local cycling gurus as Rodney Whitecalf, for obvious reasons. This was the Intermediates race, for the 13 to 15 year old Juniors. In front of me is Bruce Gesick(later to join GS Mengoni as a Junior and train at the Olympic Training Center as a Junior), and in front of him on the puke green(as we use to call it) Bianchi is my friend/training partner Brad Curd(famous for riding his bike up to the drive up window at McDonalds back in the day in order to get french fries after rides). Notice the funny looking helmets and brake cables. And yeah, steel is real baby!

"So, what do I get???"

Oh man, I'm tellin' ya, it is funny sometimes during this time of the cycling year. Cycling just cracks me up at certain moments in time.

I'll explain:

Okay, you know how at the end of the season, the racer-types kinda look around and see what other teams might have to "offer" them. Now, in the Pro ranks, this kinda makes sense - it's their profession, their living, and their lives sort of depend on it right now. Groceries, housing, car payments - it comes from their cycling performance and the pro contracts.

When you get to our ranks - and I'm not speaking for everyone reading this here bloggy thing, but probably the majority - things change a bit. We plunk down anywhere between $500 and $5,000 for a bike - and then probably that same amount of money or more on clothing, coaching, dvds, books, magazines, repairs & maintenance, racing licenses, club fees, tools, components, sunglasses, trainers, car racks, thislustybikethingweallwant and on and on and on. You race? Oh, okay, so entry fees too.

So, you decide it's time to join a club. You want to ride with others, people that you like and have fun being around - that enjoy this same magnificent interest that you have. You want your riding skills and knowledge to improve, and you like the way it feels to.......well.......belong. Camraderie, fun, knowledge sharing, those epic rides, those epic races, working together, miles going by quickly - hey, it's a good feeling to belong. You didn't know what that weird clicking noise was coming from your rear derailleur this past month - but Johnny Teammate over here not only diagnosed it for you, but fixed it on the spot. Bonked out 50 miles in on that 70-mile ride?? Well, Janie Teammate over here has two extra gels to give ya. How you gonna get through that 100 mile ride today?? By having fun with your friends!

And let me say - this is when things really start to crack me up this time of year. Why??? Because of questions like this:

"Well, if I join your club/team, what do I get???"

What do you get??? Well, um, hmmmm. First off, uh, we're not a pro team, so we're not giving away bikes or anything like that. And, as much as we would like to, we can't give you those super snazzy wheels, or pay you to race for a living.

So, you missed out on getting those free team arm warmers?? Damn. That just sux. How about a team t-shirt instead?? No?? You had your heart set on those arm warmers, eh?? Hmmmm. And now you're upset. You joined up, you thought you were gettin' the arm warmers - and damn it, there's none left. And the team wants to ride together and become better over the course of a season - learning, riding, skill building, working together, epic ride sharing, etc. But no - you feel ripped off. You plunked down your $20 or whatever for membership - and those stupid arm warmers are now gone. Damn.

Well, you know what?? Maybe you should ask yourself why in the world you would want to 'belong' on a club or a team in the first place??? Maybe it's not the right thing for you. Instead of asking what you can get - why don't ask what you can do to help. Or better yet, don't just ask - just do. Or bail. Don't threaten to bail - or think about it - just do it.

I know that there are club directors and associates out there who sometimes feel like babysitters this time of year. We have this, that, and the other thing to give you.....but most importantly, we want you to be a part of this cycling "club" that we have going here. And yes, I am just as upset as you that the team arm warmers or t-shirts or hats are now all gone - or the club deal on the 2007 Kickass bike is now over.

But it wasn't why I joined in the first place. That stuff was all secondary, at most.

I plunked down my hard-earned $20(okay, so maybe it wasn't that hard-earned, but you get the point) because I wanted to be a part of the fun, the self-improvement, the exercise, the group dynamic, the skill building, the working together, the cohesiveness......I just thought it would be a kick - it would be fun! If that's not your thing - or the group just ain't workin' for ya - well move on. But, geezo, quit your whinin' about it. Directors - I know you know what I'm talkin' about here.

And besides - not having any arm warmers or t-shirts isn't the end of the world. Heck, we'll put another order in - just tell me what you want.

One of the coolest things I saw this past year from a Sportie team came from these guys. It got towards the end of the season, they still had a little bit of cash left to help the sport team out a bit - and instead of splitting all the money up and giving it back to the members in terms of race reimbursements - they voted to use the money to hire a cycling coach to put on a 2-day skills camp for the team. They weren't asking what they get for being on the club - they just wanted to belong. They get it. They put things into perspective - that at our level, you shouldn't really be asking what you "get" for bein' on the club......because it's all the same thing......we're looking to "get" to become better riders and have fun, get some exericise, some satisfaction, and a sense of achievement.

Okay, Wednesday rant over.

Code what now???

Just an update on this post from way back when - the gate code now is:

#1015

And again, be sure to press the # sign before entering the other numbers.

This is the kind of stuff......

......that brings a smile to my face.