Cycling

I dunno how, but when my dad came to the U.S. from the Philippines, he found out about cycling. It's a great low-impact sport that can build serious lower body muscle--ever notice how most hard-core cyclists have scrawny upper bodies? Eh, it's dead weight, anyway! So, my dad joined the California Pedalers and struck up a lot of friendships in the bike business. One of 'em is Tim Parker who recently arranged a small bike race in Alameda of all places! Mr. Parker used to work in Tour de France with the Mavic support team.

My Tito Edgar got me my 1st new bike for a birthday gift--it's been such a long time that I don't remember how old I was! But, it was a BMX bike with heavy-ass tubing... Lead-filled tubes comes to mind... Hahaha. It was smaller than the Colnago and Litespeed, but it easily weighed 3 times as much. =) Still, it was nice just cruising around town on the thing--the good ol' days... I started real cycling when I was about 13 years old. My dad had two bikes in the house and he only rode one. So, when I was barely big enough to straddle the bike, I asked if I could try it out. He always used the Colnago because it's more comfy on the road. It makes for a great long-distance bike. His other race bike is the Rossin. This thing is so stiff, though. It even has a crossbrace in between the chain stays! (I'll have to get a pic of it sometime) I'll have to admit, though--my ass was killing me after the ride. Well, it was actually the perineum. But, still, it wasn't used to supporting my entire upper body's weight on just that one spot on the bike seat. And, if you look at the pics closely, you'll see what I mean.

The Colnago became my regular bike. I did a couple of century rides for fun. The first one was with my dad. The second one was with a good friend, Marc Thomas (hey, Marc, you out there?!). After I got too big for the Colnago (it was only a 49 cm frame because it was for my dad who's 5'4" while I'm 5'6.5"), I quit riding because it just got uncomfortable. My upper body felt cramped from the short top tube and my lungs couldn't expand all the way.

After a few years of no riding, I started to get the itch again. I ended up getting a '99 53 cm Litespeed Ultimate polished frame with Shimano Dura Ace components. I LOVE THE THING!!! It's a bit more "plush" while cruising compared to the Rossin (it's a crit bike). But, start leaning her over in tight, high speed turns and the ride becomes noticeably stiff. Needless to say, this thing corners like a mother! I can always tell what the bike wants to do and this gives me a great sense of confidence in pushing it. The frame's 4 cm bigger in size than the Rossin and Colnago, but weighs a good 5 lbs. LESS! I'm not nearly in as good a shape as before, but little by little, I'll come back with a vengeance. I joined the CAL Cycling Team and hopefully will be able to do one or two races with 'em next year.

With the help of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France 2 years in a row, Americans are starting to get an inkling of what the sport is about. Why isn't cycling as popular as, say, for instance, football? I think Americans wanna see the athletes' pain on their faces. And the problem is, the pros in cycling are in such good form (part of it has to deal with mentally psyching out their opponents) that they look like it's just another ride, even though they're turning big-ass gears. Yup, they just make it look easy. For example, Lance Armstrong averaged a little over 33 mph during the last time trial stage. I dunno about other guys, but I can only keep up that pace if there's a decent downhill grade!!!

A lot of people think, "Ah, it's just a bike. Besides, they don't go all that fast, so what's the point?" Well, I've gotten two warnings from police officers in cars to obey the speed limit. One time, I was pushing 32 mph while going down a straight and level road with some tailwind to help push me along. The cop gave me a li'l "siren squirt" and pulled me over. Heh. Another time, I was doing close to 40 mph while on my favorite, twisty mountain roads on Skyline Blvd. in the Oakland Hills. =) Recently, Floyd and I have been doing our traditional "let's see how fast we can go down Skyline Blvd." The highest speed that I've reached to date is 48.2 mph; Floyd's gone 50.6 mph! Hitting 75 mph on a bike is not unheard of, but you'd better be a damn good cyclist who has a feel for the road and what the bike wants to do.

So, the next time you see cyclists on the street with you, just give 'em a little bit of room and be courteous. Cyclists have the same rights as automobiles. They also have to obey the same traffic laws. So, if you think about punting a cyclist off the road because "they just don't belong there," think long and hard before you do it--they can get your license plate and report your dumb ass to the police. If they don't, and I spot you... I WILL! I've actually complained to cops on mountain bikes about drivers yelling at me. Guess what... the bike cops aren't immune to it, either! One guy told me how he was riding on the street like usual, then some bitch-ass lady floors it to pull up next to him, rolls her window down, then is about to yell, but notices that the guy she's gonna yell at is a cop! Puh-leeze, bi-otch!!!

Well, for the past few months, I've logged more and more seat time on my bike. While I can say that my strength has increased since I started riding, again, I'd still like to get stronger! My limiting factor right now are my legs--my cardio-pulmonary system isn't even ticking over before my legs get tired. I can climb highway 121 eastbound to Lake Berryesa (and the road on its perimeter) in Napa with my 53 x 17-21, depending on the grade. But, still, stronger is better, right? =) What I need to do now is work on a proper feeding schedule for myself. I *hate* stuffing bars in my jersey pockets, but I need to eat something. I'm looking into the "Extran" supplement. Supposedly, it's the equivalent to 6 slices of bread or 3 bananas. I've bonked badly before (just ask my best friend Floyd about our last Lake Berryesa ride! Damn, was that embarassing...), so I'd like to think that I've learned my lesson! I'm actually surprised that he hasn't mentioned it to me lately... Hahaha... =)