Morning at the Harbor (and links!)

First a nice photo to get the post started...

This was from my Memorial Day ride. Such a beautiful morning it was. The temperature was in the mid-60's, with a light breeze ringing a ship's bell somewhere off in the distance.

I love marinas in the morning, seeing people preparing for a day out at sea. Sometimes I simply enjoy hearing the irregular rhythm of the boats bobbing in the water, tapping against the docks. After I took this photograph, I took my bike back out to the road, began pedaling again, and thought: this is a good morning.

On another topic ... I just added some blogs I like to my sidebar. What fun! The first is "Up in Alaska":

http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/

I'm so glad I came across this blog. Wonderful photos, so nicely written, and sincere. I'm still exploring it, but my favorite post so far is "First Day of Spring" (http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/2008/03/first-day-of-spring.html). Those photos of Alaska are incredible.

The next is "Pat's Bike Blog":

http://bikepat.blogspot.com/

I love bike touring logs, and this one is great. The tour itself is completed, so you've got the whole trip there for you to enjoy. I really like the early entry where he photographs his fully-loaded bike. He also has some interesting posts about Underground Railroad history.

And then "Cyclin' Missy":

http://cyclinmissy.blogspot.com/

It's a cyclist's journey toward riding her first century (a 100 mile biking event). Even though a century is out of my league at the moment, I can still relate to much of what she describes, especially her passion for riding. She writes so easily and honestly. Great blog!

Headwind/Tailwind

Does anything beat a nice wide shoulder to ride on?

When I took this photo at 5:45 this morning, I was riding back from having been on this same road earlier, going in the opposite direction. It's a beautiful causeway leading out to a semi-island of glacial till in Boston Harbor, surrounded by wetlands and the sea.

On the way out though, I had to fight a massive headwind. So I tucked myself low in the drops of my handlebars and spun around in a ridiculously small gear. But then coming back ... ah, relief! What was once an ornery headwind was now a magnificent tailwind! I could put the bike in a whopping big gear and fly away.

Such is the beauty of an out-and-back morning ride.

The only problem though ... the tailwind put me in such a confident mood that when I stopped to take the photo, I forgot to downshift beforehand. Ugh! Starting up again from a giant gear was no fun! It's a nice photo though...

Memorial Day Ride

It was a beautiful morning on this Memorial Day. Here are some sights from my ride...

With deep gratitude and remembrance. Memorial Day 2009.

The Rhythm of the Ride

Bike riding is all about rhythm ... the rhythm of the pedals going round and round, your knees rising and falling in a steady cadence, the gradual downshift as you move through the gears on a steep hill. Sometimes it takes a while for this rhythm to work itself into motion, especially if you have a lot on your mind. But then after about 15 minutes or so, the sights and sounds of the ride sink in and everything feels as if it's falling into place. You're back in the zone, and the horizon seems limitless again.

Sights you may simply pass by in a car take on a quiet kind of beauty in this bicycling zone. Like an abandoned mill...

Or the remains of a once-busy fishing dock...

Safety Tip

So a couple of weeks ago, I was at my parent's house sitting across from my mother at the breakfast table. We were chatting about what safety items to bring on a bike ride (like an i.d. card, etc) ... and boom! one of the lenses falls out of my glasses. I hadn't even noticed it was loose. The little screw at the temple was just kind of hanging there on its last few threads. Mom went into action. "Don't worry!" she said, "I have an eyeglass screwdriver". She brought it out and I thought ... wow, now that's a bike ride necessity!

Here's the little screwdriver that came to the rescue that morning (thanks Mom!):

For those of you who wear glasses, imagine if this happens during a ride. You're speeding down a hill, enjoying the brisk morning air and the hum of the road beneath your tires .... then your glasses come apart and you loose half your vision. Yikes!! Even worse, imagine that you can't find the little screw to put them back together. Bad stuff. From now on, I add a "glasses condition check" to my pre-ride routine, and a little eyeglass repair kit sits happily in my saddle bag.

Giro d'Italia, Stage 9: Milan

What a stage it was in beautiful ...

Or more accurately, what a stage it wasn't, as the riders decided the course was too dangerous for racing and instead rode together at a reduced speed. The situation was far more complex and interesting than it first appears though. According to Lance Armstrong's video message posted on his blog (http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/blog/), here's what happened:

1. The riders are immediately unhappy while riding the circuit through Milan, encountering parked cars, oncoming traffic, tram tracks running parallel to the riders' course, and extremely tight curves.

2. Riders talk about not racing, but Lance Armstrong decides they need an official ruling. So he takes the initiative and drops back to talk to the race commissar.

3. The commissar agrees to nullify the General Classification rankings for the day. Those who want to race for the stage win, can. But those who don't need not worry about loosing their place in the overall Giro standings.

4. Lance tells the news to the rest of the peleton. They all stays in a pack and ride at a reduced speed.

5. At the return to the start line after one of the circuits, the peleton stops and the Pink Jersey wearer, Danilo Di Luca, takes a microphone, explains the situation to the Milanese public, and apologizes for the lack of a good race.

6. Riding resumes and eventually Mark Cavendish wins the stage.

Now I know there are those out there who will automatically call the riders whiny and lazy, recalling the "good old days" when Giro stages went on from early in the morning until late at night. Well, you know what ... I'm tired of that knee jerk reaction. I thought what happened was actually kind of cool.

I mean look, riders were worried for their own safety, which was completely understandable after the crash of Horillo Munoz the day before. So they did something about it. But rather than simply stopping, Lance Armstrong consulted the race commissar and everyone did the right thing. Then ... and this is the best part ... Di Luca actually stops the race for a moment, personally explains the situation to the public, and apologizes! Can you imagine that happening in baseball or football? No press conference, no prepared statement ... simply a direct message to the people. But that fits the culture of bicycling. Spectators aren't kept in seats; they're right there on the streets or hanging out of their windows. It's personal, you talk directly to them.

Besides, looking at it from a sporting perspective alone, too much danger on a course doesn't make for a very good race. It prevents the riders from racing at their full potential. So a balance needs to be reached between thrilling technical courses and courses that are unnecessarily dangerous.

Stage 9 in Milan was a day out of balance. But on a purely human level, it was a great day for people speaking their minds and doing the right thing.

Magazines I'm Reading

My current subway reading material:

Great issues, all of them. The one on the right is an Australian magazine I found at Barnes & Noble, with a nice article about Lance Armstrong. The current Bicycling Magazine (left) has a wonderful piece about legendary Italian rider Fausto Coppi (what a great name ... Fausto!), and VeloNews is usually by my side as I watch the Giro d'Italia, since it has an annotated course map. Good reading...