El Cyclista

09.02.10

A nice illustration of “Coppi” sent to me by the Italian artist Riccardo Guasco. Reminds me of the glory days of illustration and artists like the great Cassandre. More of Riccardo’s work here.

08.31.10

1800 KM

See the 1800KM photo essay here

So almost one year ago today we did our first post on the Elcyclista site. Almost as exciting was sending our first Elcyclista kit out not long after. That was to Stefan Rohner, who turned out to be an amazing and published photographer, and so our photo features began. Since then Stefan regularly drops me a note to poke fun at my riding – like I rode up the Stelvio on the wrong side (Ed: is there a right side? They both hurt you know). So it is only fitting that on this day of celebration in the Elcyclista household we are able to publish this stunning photo essay from Stefan.

He just spent three weeks with his brother riding the great and slightly lesser known climbs of the Pyrenees. The numbers speak for themselves. The longest daily ride: 168km, the shortest daily ride: 83km, the average ride: 135km. Vertical climb approximately: 36,500m, average: 2810m…. but you know what, none of that really mattered to them. No Garmin or SRM, they just figured it out after wards, choosing to ride the climbs with their thoughts, conversation, and a view. What I love about these images, is that you can literally feel the silence on the climbs, and the only sound left is your breathing and the changing of gears. The absence of people and traffic. The aftermath of the Tour (they rode them in the weeks right after the Tour had passed through). If anything ever makes you question why you ride, or commit so much of you life to sitting in a saddle, look at these pictures. You will instantly remember why.

There is also something very fitting, that on the day that we get to publish these incredibly peaceful photos, we are also able to pay tribute to Laurent Fignon who did so much to animate racing on the roads of the Pyreness, The Marie Blanque, Aubisque, Solour, Tourmalet, Larrau, Pierre St. Martin, Burdincurucheta, Baragui, Houratate, Bouezou, Sustary, Labays, Marmare, Pradel, Pailheres, Agnes, Ares, Peyresourde, Aspin,

08.29.10

A Day In The Hills Of Marin

Catch the Marin Photo Essay here

It seems San Francisco has been having a “Bad Weather” summer, at least until last Friday. I had the weekend to myself with my bike and planned a few days riding on some of my favorite roads on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. I woke on Saturday morning at 6.3o am, one of the benefits of west coast jet lag, and peered out the window to see a typical grey but breaking morning. I layered up expecting a cold but completely rideable day (minus sun block). By the time I had reached the top of Bay Street I had already removed one layer. This was my first day out in the Elcyclista arm warmers, and the first impression is that they are definitely built for the autumn/winter and colder spring morning conditions. My arms were hot. By the time I dropped down into Sausalito the clouds had broken and blue sky had set in for the rest of the day. I stopped in Fairfax for a coffee and got layered properly before I headed up towards Mt Tam and Alpine Lake. The climb up to the lake is a steady and beautiful climb, and you crest the top to see the lake and reservoir down to your left. A swift and well-paved descent takes you down to the water and over the top of the dam. The climb out the other side to Mt Tam is at first steep but evens out towards the top. I am glad I went this way round, as the surface on this side would be a little sketchy for a descent, having seen one rider bail on one of the corners and completely over cook it onto a grass verge. Enter third weather system of the day. Mt Tam was shrouded in cloud rolling up from the Pacific, which made for a spectacular but chilly ride along the “Seven Sisters“. It was at this point one of two things started to happen. Either my knees had decided it was all over, or someone had dropped gravel in my bottom bracket at the coffee shop. Luckily it was mostly a downhill ride all the way to Mill Valley where the guys at Above Category managed to get me back on the road with a new Chris King BB installed. I headed back over the bridge and stopped at Blue Bottle thinking of one of the best days you could have on a bike. The shots of the ride are here.

08.27.10

Above Category, Mill Valley

You have a weekend all to yourself in San Francisco, you have your bike with you, and over the Golden Gate Bridge is some of the best riding you will do in the US. What could be wrong with that, right? Well half way through that first ride my BB completely shredded, and felt like someone had tossed a handful of gravel in there. Luckily this happened at the top of a descent that had one of my favorite bike shops around at the bottom, Above Category in Mill Valley. These are guys that immediately understand the pain of not being able to get out and ride in the three days of summer that San Francisco has had this year, and within 30 minutes I was ready to be back out on the road (Although I did spend another 30 minutes drooling at bikes and parts).

Chris one of the slickest and nicest wrenches around (in the shot above) had my old BB out, a brand new gold Chris King BB in, and a Dura Ace crank back on in the time it took me to do a lap of the shop. That my friends is service of the premium kind. The shop is sporting a line-up of the new Team Sky painted 2011 Pinarello Princes, with the Super Record 11 builds. These are amazing looking bikes in the flesh. They also had Chad’s Moots RSL built up with Lightweight Wheels, which was ridiculously light. That is one beautiful frame. Other highlights on the parts front were those beautiful custom powder coated 3T stems above, a really nice way to finish out a build from the shop. I picked up a couple of nice tools that I will post on later when I get them out of the bike box.

If you are ever riding in Marin you really need to go by this shop. A great space, a great line up of bikes, one of the coolest shop kits out there and some of the nicest people and service you will find. Go check them out. Thanks for getting me back out there so quick guys.

08.19.10

Outlier Summer Shorts: The Only Alternative to Lycra

Photos by Emiliano Grando and Bjorn Wallander

It is hard to find the perfect pair of shorts. They tend to be too baggy or too long, and never seem to be comfortable enough to ride in if you are just heading out and about. Also compounded by the fact that the more you wear them, the worse they look. I have never been one for different shorts for different occasions, except for racing. So last weekend prompted by our new riding buddy and photographer Emiliano, and seeing some of Outliers clothes around the studio I headed over to Williamsburg to see for myself what looked like some really well made clothes. Sometimes when you pick up a product or a piece of clothing you know instantly two things, 1) you are going to buy it without asking the price, and 2) you will regret not buying two. Outliers Summer Shorts are such a product. But if there was any doubt I was hooked by the “water demonstration“. When placing the shorts on a table Abe proceeded to pour a bottle of water over them, only to see the water bubble and run straight off the shorts. Yes my friends these shorts are water repellent. Sold!

The shorts are made here in New York with an imported Swiss technical fabric called Schoeller Dryskin Extreme. As mentioned they repel water incredibly well and when saturated will dry in 15 – 20 minutes. The 4-season fabric has a little elasticity to it (a four-way stretch) that makes them very comfortable to wear. The cut is pretty much perfect. They sit just above the knee making them perfect for riding and evening out your cycling tan. They have a stylish rear pocket design that remind of a well cut pair of Paul Smith trousers, and mesh front pockets that if you get a soaking will breath and dry quickly. I tried them on in the shop and walked out wearing them and have been wearing them for the 5 days since, even after spilling my Stumptown coffee on them which wiped straight off. I think I am going to be wearing these for most of the summer. A great company run by a great bunch of guys who love riding of all types and want to contribute some quality enduring products to the bike community.

The Bosberg, Crossberg and 1919 From Ritte Racing

We have been fans of the Ritte team for ages. Apart from being one of the funniest teams around (check out their blog), they have also managed to produce a quality team bike that is now available to the public like you and me. Named after the Bosberg climb, it is a light all-around race frame. The features include carbon dropouts, an integrated seat mast, a BB30 bottom bracket and massive chain stays for power transfer. Also a tapered 1.125″ to 1.25″ head tube giving it very precise handling. You can find these features on a lot of bikes today, but what really makes the Bosberg pop is the paint job. It is a pretty unique looking design, and has now been updated with a beautiful matte black carbon finish, (just like my Storck) with a high gloss finish on the paint. Pretty classy right?

According to the guys at Ritte it will also make you roughly 240% more attractive and 312% more intimidating (Ed: ? So while you might attract more ladies with a 240% increase in charm – you will scare them off when they get close with your 312% improvement in the intimidation category. Net gain, you have a 72% better chance of either charming your way over the line first, or scaring everyone back to the feed zone).

Back to the real facts, a medium Bosberg frame with uncut mast weighs less than 1000g, the fork with uncut steerer weighs a scant 350g. Bolt on SRAM Red and a pair of racing tubs and you are in the 14-pound race bike range. All of this with a nice finishing kit for under $5K. If you are interested, it is as easy as going here. They have also extended the line to include the mean looking Crossberg (I think I like this design best) and the 1919 time trial bike, both below, all available at the Ritte site.

08.16.10

Sexy Polo Beer Amigo – Polo On Bicycles

That title should drive up the search results! or spam. Some pretty funny wipe outs in here, but all in all looks like fun night out – well at least for the audience. Sexy Polo Beer Amigo, Crash Edit from enciclika on Vimeo.

08.15.10

Elcyclista Kit In The Wild

Above 1: Taking some sun on the Ghisallo ferry post ride.
Above 2: Topping up in the camper on Lake Como.

Above 1: Brad got a flat on Riverside Drive.
Above 2: On River Road, the weekly climb.

Above: Anwen sneaks a peak at the Tour, She likes Andy.

A TransAm Honeymoon: Kissing With Helmets

There is no better way to discover a country than from the seat of a bike, and America has undoubtedly one of the richest mixes of landscape to see. I have an Ernest Hemingway quote pinned above my desk (yes I know, an unlikely fan of the bike) that says, “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. You have no such accurate remembrance as you gain by riding a bicycle“. It is with that quote that I wish Brett Clever and his wife Edie the best of luck and safe riding on their epic ride across America, on their HONEYMOON. Yes I said honeymoon. They are taking on an amazing 4,787 mile ride from Astoria, OR, to Brooklyn, NY, along the TransAm route, undoubtedly something they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Brett and Edie have planned this trip down to the last detail, and knowing Brett as one of the the local New York scene’s most competitive Cat 2s, it wasn’t hard to get some support from some of the best bike brands out there. The bikes are killer. Two matching IFs with a custom paint job influenced by a 87 Haro Team Master, that will let us see them coming into Brooklyn all the way from Illinois. Topped out with matching white Ritchey, FSA, Chris King, and Ultegra parts, makes for one pretty nice “touring” bike. Some custom Lightweight jerseys from their friends at Rapha will be keeping them nicely ventilated, but out of all of the detail, my favorite item has to be the custom”Kissing With Helmets” head badges by Jen Green, the name of this whole adventure. Check out the Kissing With Helmets site, Brett and Edie will be posting as they travel (if they can find Wifi in Kansas). I can’t wait to see and hear the stories from this one, we will post when we get news of their travels.

Brett: I am not sure that Drum and Bass is going sound right on those long flats of Kansas. I suggest “The Wild Hunt” album by The Tallest Man On Earth. The cover alone will give you a hint of what you are in for…