2010 north american handbuilt bicycle show

live this weekend, from Richmond, Virginia, is the 2010 north american handbuilt bicycle show. this is the premeire showcase for cycling's boutique offerings on this side of the Atlantic. perusing the images from cyclingnews, it becomes readily apparent that there is no shortage of lust-inspiring craft & giblets on offer this year.

we here at ABANDON YOUR CAR would like to take this opportuity to wish our friend Kent Eriksen of Kent Eriksen Cycles all the best at the show this year. he took top palmares for the builder's award at last year's show, and he always has something cool and new on display to wow the judges.

back a the show:

i like the neo-retro randonneur style bikes, kitted out with color match fenders, pump, and cork-plugged bidon

sensible and stylish all wrapped up in a convenient package = my kind of bike





this is an image from an ebay auction that ended recently. this guy is one of my favorite sellers because he curates such a vast hoard of vintage items and his auction style is top notch professional. i liked this particular image a lot and thought it would be relevant to include here due to the many retro elements on display at the NAHBS

Giro d' Italia awards presentations rile the Dutch

Giro d' Italia organizers have announced that there will be Italian women presenting the awards for the stages that start in the Netherlands this year. this has caused consternation amongst a few Dutch politicians, who feel that the traditional presentation practice is sexist.

this well may be, but i'm not so sure that if i won a stage in a grand tour that i would want to get smooched by a couple of guys dressed in drag, as has been suggested by some. there's just something about a 5 o'clock shadow that would probably rub me the wrong way in that situation. maybe i'm sexist, too.

at any rate, it seems that this is a story that will be ramping up from now until the prologue kicks off in Amsterdam on the 8th of May. it should be interesting, to say the least.

without doubt this could shake up the old traditions, which would probably be a good thing- especially for the Italians who seem to be stuck fast somewhere in the era of Fausto Coppi. the view of the podium (WARNING: NSFW) will likely look much different than in the past, such as last year when Dennis Menchov reigned supreme in the Italian Grand Tour. thinking about the possibility of this newly proposed reality is the stuff that bad dreams are made of.

maybe the Dutch politicians are correct. just send the racers up there to collect the awards and call it good.

a few words about good taste

with apologies to the polite, civilized people who like to visit here and share their comments; i have now enabled word verification to be required prior to posting your contributions. it seems that, for whatever reason, this blog has atracted the attention of some very unsavory and uncouth spammers from the cyberspace of yonder internets.
i honestly don't have time to go through all of my many archived rants every day to make sure that those who can't keep their hands out of their pants while they are on the computer... just keep it to themselves. i say to those "people" (and i use that term quite loosely) please go away, you are not welcome here.

again, i apologize to all who have visited and chosen to paticipate in a dignified manner. everyone is invited to be here, in MY house, as long as their contributions do not slide into the gutter and maintain a content rating of PG-13 (at most... or perhaps i should say "least").
it's too bad that so many suffer inconveniences inflicted by those few who are lacking in good taste and manners. i hate making rules and regulations, but sometimes it is what must be done.

Colorado loves California day

it's official, as decreed by Guv. Ritter. today, we Coloradans are celebrating our true love for the state of California.

well, i'm celebrating my love for the Golden State today. i hope that Colorado finds a lot more ways to be like California. bike lanes. mass transit. cultural diversity. good food. Mediterranean climate. any or all of those things would be a great place to start. i'm not holding my breath, though.

we'll probably end up moving there before any of that stuff happens here in the square state.

a couple from the road

as can easily be determined by glancing at these images, there is still plenty of snow on the ground today, here in red-rock country. oh, sure- the thermometer cracked the 40 degree mark for one of the first times since November and the sun was finally shining again... it still wasn't all that warm out there.
nonetheless, in an act of solidarity with the cyclsts of Belgium, i ventured forth and rode outdoors in the weather for a good 2.5 hours. here's a couple of images from the last hour of the ride, the scenery out on the mud flats doesn't really compare with the grandeur of the Colorado National Monument, so i kept my hands in my gloves and stayed on the bike for all of that.



here's the view looking up the ramp from the west (Fruita) entrance. not exactly a crushing traffic volume today, thank goodness. the road is also visible at the rock cut, midway up the sandstone wall (image center).

a couple of kilometers farther up, near Balanced Rock, there was plenty of snowmelt flowing across the road. not really a problem here as the sun warms the tarmac sufficiently to keep things moving. where the road passes through shaded areas and exposed, north-facing aspects, water like this turns to a deadly sheet of ice.

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tuesday february 9, 2010

road conditions in the greater Fruita area are classified as mostly dry, with scattered areas of sand and gravel, as well as some frozen snowmelt on road surfaces at higher elevations. expect to find substantial deposits of winter debris in bike lanes and on road shoulders.

otherwise, enjoy the ride.