Cycling

Summer is when cycling legs blossom! Life giving sun and free flowing air makes cycling even more... For the full photographic glory and the rest of the text, you know where to go. The Original Cycle Chic awaits.

Summer is here. Lately, when I stick my head outdoors in the early morning, the temperature hadn’t dropped below 70 overnight. That can make for some uncomfortable riding. There’s plenty of material online about drinking enough during a ride, and eating, too. Today I want to share a trick I learned last year from another online source. I just wish I knew who it was whose idea I’m stealing. No doubt one of the many blogs I read. I came across this tip right after I had run out of an electrolyte replenisher that I’d been using regularly, and it seemed like it might work. Here it is: Fill a water bottle almost to the top with cold water, then add a pinch of salt. There should be enough salt that you can taste it in the water, but not so much that the salty flavor overwhelms you. To cut the taste of the salt, spritz in a generous shot of lemon juice. I use the plastic squeeze bottle juice, but there’s no reason you can’t use fresh whole lemons. Voila! Instant electrolyte replenisher! Oh, sure — it doesn’t have all the mineral salts you find in “real” electrolyte drinks. But sodium and chlorine seem to take care of most of my needs. And for a guy who doesn’t ride farther than 50 miles at a crack, this concoction works fine. Try it on your next longish ride, and see what you think. Filed under: Odds 'n ends Tagged: hydration

Prost!Friday File...Time for a beer. It is Friday.Gerhard Ciolek tasted the fruits (or the hops) of his labor today by winning stage 3 of the Bayern-Rundfahrt. For first year South African Pro Conti team, Qhubeka it was his second win of the season since winning Milan-Sanremo. "It is something very special that we could get our first yellow jersey here. Many thanks to Qhubeka and our sponsors. We are proud that we can publicise the work Qhubeka does here in Germany." Fine win and love the liquid trophy!Ciao Killer,Third time... unlucky!I'm bowed over like everyone else over the Killer's ulterior motives and thus his demise. Frankly, I was surprised to see him at the start of the Giro. And I didn't pay particular attention to him until now. One thing that is hard to understand is if he was tested before the Giro started (April 29th) why was he allowed to race the Giro? The test results should have been made before allowing him... or not to race.The new Stage 20.I woke up early this morning to catch stage 19 and discovered the stage was cancelled and of course the Killers' demise. Now that's drama. Tomorrow is a truncated 'queen' stage 20, only two climbs of the original five will be climbed: Passo Tre Croci and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. I'm expecting some more drama to happen.How about some lighter news?Allez!I like fast as much so - this is French cyclist Francois Gissy breaking the World Land Speed Record at 163 mph! That's a strapped on hydrogen peroxide rocket to the frame of a mountain bike at abandoned runway in northeast France. Gissy broke the rocket-powered bike record of 150.74 mph set in 2002.Hang on!New York has received their share bike program called Citi bikes... Now, how long until Vancouver joins the revolution?Another form of bike sharing...

Garmin Sharp DS on the weather and tough conditions

EcoVelo posted a photo:

Planning, braking and time splits result in early lead

French team to sit out Dauphiné after doping positive

Amber Neben crashed hard into the embankment on the outside of a corner during the Amgen Tour women's time trial. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.comFormer time trial world champion Amber Neben (Pasta Zara) said on Friday that she did not have a timeline for her return to racing following a hard crash in the women’s TT at the Amgen Tour of California last week. Neben appeared to be riding toward a podium place in San Jose when she overcooked a corner and crashed into a road embankment on the course’s technical descent. She suffered a broken hip and two broken ribs in the crash and will miss her title defense at the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Saturday. “Considering how bad the crash was, I am doing very well,” said Neben in a team press release. “I was going very well. I think that I would have won the race. I know I was already very fast to the point where I crashed, and I felt very good. Bike racing is hard sometimes! I don’t have yet a timetable for a return but I am doing little things to fire muscles in my legs isometrically. Thanks everyone for the support and prayers.” Neben, 38, won her first TT national title in 2012 in Augusta, Georgia. She was part of the world champion Specialized-lululemon squad for the team time trial in Limburg, Netherlands, in September and was fourth in the road race days later. Pasta Zara’s Addyson Albershart will start the time trial on Saturday in Chattanooga. Albershart and Amber Pierce will represent the Italian squad in Monday’s road race.

Join trail advocates on a tour of a railroad trestle bridge on the alignment of the planned Three Creeks Trail The Los Gatos Creek trail from Lexington Reservoir to San Jose is an important corridor for recreation and human-powered transportation, providing complete grade separation through the cities of Los Gatos, Campbell and San Jose with easy crossings past a number of high traffic roads. This trail ends on Meridian Avenue in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, about two miles short of downtown San Jose. Just blocks downstream of this trail end, the Los Gatos Creek intersects with the planned Three Creeks Trail, which mostly runs along the alignment of an abandoned Union Pacific rail right-of-way. Trail advocates in Willow Glen envision a regional, unified trail system linking Los Gatos Creek, Three Creeks, and the Guadalupe River System for enhanced biking and walking opportunities. A bridge where Three Creeks cross the Los Gatos Creek trail is a vital part of this conenction. Although city officials plan to replace the wooden rail trestle with a steel pedestrian structure, community advocates say this historic trestle bridge can be converted for trail use. Although the city is moving forward on the Three Creeks Trail, the San Jose city council voted to have this trestle destroyed and replaced with a standard steel pedestrian bridge. Trail advocates hope to convince city officials to reverse this decision. You can see this trestle bridge for yourself by joining Dr Larry Ames on a tour of the Willow Glen Trestle Bridge this weekend. Dr Ames will begin the tour this Saturday, May 25 2013 at the corner of Coe & Leona (one block east of Lincoln) in San Jose. Ames believes the existing bridge can be the crowning jewel of a trail system that he hopes will eventually link to downtown San Jose. He hopes to encourage people to show up at the city’s next public meeting on Three Creeks, which takes place on Wednesay, May 29, 2013 at the Willow Glen Senior Center on Lincoln near Curtner. For more information, visit Save the Willow Glen Trestle website. Related posts: San Jose: Extraterrestrial Ride this Friday San Jose Kidical Mass! San Jose Tour of California viewing