the open road

Today winter arrived. Snow came, blowing and filling in the cracks. Painting the world white. More is on the way. Good, I say.

It is funny how my views of the outside world change once the snow starts to fall. I am both attracted and repulsed by the arrival of the snow.

***

Winter attracts because the snow brings with it challenges not present at other times of the year. Cycling is more difficult, driving more interesting, dressing for the weather can be a challenge as the needs of active transport clash with the needs of standing still.

While cycling is undeniably more difficult in the snow, it is a lot more fun. Knowing that the bicycle can slide out from under me at any given time makes me acutely aware of what goes on 'round me. I have to remember all my off road steering tricks: how to float a bicycle, how to let it do what it will while I guide it, how to feather my brakes and use them to flow the bicycle, not stop it. The importance of tire pressure (not too hard!!). Winter tires. More attention paid to the road ahead and traffic behind. Lights! Don't forget them and use them even in daylight hours. They are a life saver. Change or charge the batteries.

I love car rallying. Therefore I love driving in the snow. Drift surfing on a well set up front wheel drive car with snow tires is a real delight. Bring a shovel. Don't be an idiot. Things I have to remember.

Should I dress for the weather for comfort walking around or standing still, I will overheat and freeze when riding. Sweat is the enemy. So is cotton. Should I dress to accommodate the heat of riding, I will avoid the enemy, but will quickly freeze if I have to stop. It is a balancing act I solve (as much as I do solve) by using layers which can be peeled off or back as needed. It has been years since I have used my parka.

***

Winter repulses because I am driven indoors more (riding on the trainer, attending RPM classes at the gym, treadmills...), because I am reduced to one heavy commuter bike with snow tires.

The only thing that makes riding on the trainer bearable is a tolerant wife who lets me set my trainer up in the living room, a living room office with a computer, a very long HDMI cable, and my hi-def television. Plus YouTube. Clearly I am spoiled. But without the inspiration of watching Spartacus destroy all comers in a spring classic, or watching the climbers crush another col, I would not be able to sustain trainer riding.

This year, RPM classes are starting for me again. Spin Spin Spin. They are good, intense, but very loud and not outdoors.

I miss my "real" bicycles. The old 'cross bike is parked. Single-speeded now, it is away until the spring when I can get out and ride the city fast again. The mountain bike, rarely used, is also shelved. My new 'cross bike sits on the trainer behind me as I write this, taunting me to come play. But I cannot. I don't have the resources to take the new machine in the salt, muck, and sludge of winter and rebuild/replace a good chunk of it every year. I can't and won't do that to a nice bike. I consign instead my commuter bike to take the hit. Heavy, slow. Beast of burden. It can take the pounding, and costs little to repair. Saved gas more than makes up for it. Not so the good bikes.

***

So I am left dreaming. Visiting bicycle sites on the internet. Riding the trainer with eyes half closed behind the best in the world. Pounding out the beats in a spin class.

Staring at the bicycle.

Dreaming of the open road.

ever have one of those days?

Recently, I had a birthday.

I am well on my way towards being 50 (eek!! how did that happen?!?) and am planning my mid-life crisis. I am funny that way. I don't have crisis' like normal people do, I plan them... and I figure that 50 is as good a time to have a crisis as any, so...

I am planning a crisis for when I turn 50.

Like most of these things, my crisis' tend to centre around bicycles (and maybe sometimes cameras, but this one will be about bicycles). I am planning a new bicycle for my 50th year. I am not sure which bicycle exactly, but it will definitely be a road bike of some sort. I am not the sort to run around after unattached women (and make a fool of myself and ruin my family) or to go out and buy some stinky sports car, but I am always in the mood for new bicycles.

My last two bicycles that I have been riding on the road have been cyclocross bicycles. More or less, these are road bikes that are a bit over built with clearance for mud and mud tires. My most recent one is a 2013 Kona Jake the Snake. I love it and have no desire to replace it. By the time I am almost 50 though, it will be nearing the end of its life cycle as the main road/rail trail machine.

I am wanting to put my bike that slots into the Kona's position in the fleet with something special next time. Something Specialized in fact.

I was thinking one of these:

Shawing mobile?!?

Why this bike and not something else?

Well, I would like a carbon fiber road bike. The whole notion of a very light and very tough and very fast machine appeals to me greatly. I know very well that the determining factor is me. What makes the bike go is my legs, heart, and lungs and a will to suffer. But, a bike like this makes working me a lot more fun and enjoyable.

Carbon fiber has come a long way from the days when frames used to come unbonded and fall apart in splintered shattered wrecks. Specialized does some nifty things with their frame manufacturing. The frame is in seven parts. Four of these parts make up the chain and seat stays, and three the rest of the frame.

The area around the seat is one piece, with extensions pointing towards the steer tube, crank, and seat stays. The bottom bracket is also one piece, with extensions pointing towards the chain stays, steer tube, and seat. The steer tube section is one piece with extensions pointing towards the bottom bracket and seat. What makes these frames cool is that for different sized frames, they don't just change "tube length" but actually make different sized and proportioned parts for the three main frame components so that ride characteristics for the different frame sizes remain the same regardless of frame size. Once the bits are assembled, using aircraft adhesive, several more layers of carbon are wrapped on the frame as a whole to finish the assembly process.

The carbon is wrapped in such a way that the frame, once assembled, with flex slightly up and down but won't flex side to side. This gives a very good ride without compromising performance. You can do this with carbon much more effectively than with other frame materials. Super stiff steel/aluminum bikes will pound the daylights out of the rider while more comfortable ones will flex too much to be stellar performers. Carbon can be tuned more specifically.

Stress tests on modern carbon frames show them to be less likely to shatter or break compared to metal ones. Specialized has proven to my satisfaction that their carbon frames are stronger than metal ones regardless of the metal (steel or aluminum) while being lighter in the process. I had a very interesting talk with a bike mechanic friend of mine who had been to a "Specialized Weekend" in Montreal to play with their new stuff and learn how they are made and what stress testing is done on the frames to ensure their durability. They are tough. Full stop. Carbon wheel sets are also not what they used to be. They can withstand significant forces before breaking, more than aluminum ones will.

This bike has a groupo on it that I have been wanting to try. There is nothing wrong with Shimano. In fact, every bike I have owned since my first serious bike has had Shimano stuff on it. But I want to try SRAM road componants. I like the notion of the front derailleur which twists with its shifting to line up better with the rear of the bike and rub less. The reach adjustments are better for the brake/shift levers than Shimano (SRAM uses infinitely adjustable set screws vs fixed spacers). Specialized wheel sets are good, and this one has a carbon set - should be very light and strong.

The only question for me at the end of the day is whether to go with a Tarmac (like above) or with a Roubaix.