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

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.

08.09.10

Vincenzo Torriani’s Colnago

Vincenzo Torriani was best known as one of the original “Giro Bosses” or organizers of the Grand Tour. He held the role for 46 years, from 1946 to 1992. This bike was a special edition given to him by Ernesto Colnago in the 1980s as a gift, recognizing his contribution to the great race and Italian cycling in general. Also in his honor they named the “Trofeo Vincenzo Torriani” after him, awarded to the rider who took the Cima Coppi ascent. He was also the man responsible for introducing the Cipressa to the Milan – San Remo, under the direction that the race needed to be made harder in the final stages. Something riders like Cav will curse him for today. I saw this bike in the museum at the top of the Ghisallo, and of all the bikes on display that day this one really stood out. The pictures do not do the finish justice, the bike literally glows in the light, even indoors. But as with Colnagos of that era, it was the attention to detail that makes it special: the painted inlay branding and the Italian national colors painted into the seat post inlays. Bike design today has got me so used to fat and shaped tubes and high profile rims, that a bike like this looks almost naked now.

08.03.10

His Wheel Is Bigger Than Mine.

Is that thing even legal (well not with todays rules)? That is a ridiculously large wheel, and somewhat seems to defeat the purpose of trying to beat the hour record. Sure you might as well just stuff a motor down that extra long seat tube. Hell why even stop at the 4ft diameter, you can get that thing up to 6ft, and your back isn’t even straight. Dave Zabriskie (“the most aerodynamic man in cycling” according to Phil Liggett) could sort that out.

07.28.10

Cicli.co / Milan

I can’t find much out about Cicli.co, a company from Milan that we found on our recent trip. They make a very unusual and cool looking commuter bike. They work in partnership with Spernicelli Bici one of Italy’s premium vintage bike restoration shops. Check out their site for some beautiful vintage rides. Would love to get a test ride on that power arm crank they have instead of a chain.

06.08.10

This Should Be Flagged As Inappropriate

Found this great piece of helmet Cam footage over at La Gazzetta Della Bici. Shot on the last 450 meters of the Plan De Corones time trial following Michael Barry you get a real sense of what it must have been like for him to ride up through the Tifosi, without the lung busting pain of coarse. The last kilometer has to be one of the steepest ridden in any race, and took on average about 5 mins to ascend. As I was watching it on Youtube I couldn’t help looking at the “Flag as inappropriate” button, and thinking damn right, how inappropriate is it to make a rider time trial up this. Accompanied by Paolo Conte’s “Bartali” – a song dedicated to Italian cycling legend Gino Bartali. A great piece of footage.

05.27.10

The Climb, The Weather And The Underdog

The Climb
It would be tempting to say that tomorrows 12.8km of the Passo del Mortirolo will decide the fate of what has been one of the best ever Grand Tours. But with the following day going over the Gavia, weather permitting, and a time trial into Verona there are still plenty of places to gain and loose time. If you think it is between Basso and Evans, then 42 seconds is nothing. There are time bonuses on the finishes and if Evans hangs with Basso until the last KM of the climbs I expect to see him attacking. In the time trail he should pull between 20 and 30 seconds out of Basso. But if Basso has the Pink jersey on his back, and Evans crumbles at the end of what has been a brutal three weeks and the pressure of his first GT win, he might want be a little closer than the power meter numbers from their coach Sassi says. So that puts it back on the Mortirolo and maybe more importantly the descent of the Trivigno.

The Weather
Then there is the weather, if it hits tomorrow then the odds and players change somewhat. We have already seen Basso back off on the wet, while riders like Evans and Vino pile it on. So the descent of the Trivigno may well be the ideal place to gain time and maybe by the the time we hit the Mortirolo it will all be about minimizing loses. Andy Hampsten must be laughing at them all as the potential for snow at the summit of the Gavia the next day may redirect the stage, but with that type of weather threatening you could even see abandonments! I say let them go up, providing it is ridable of coarse.

The Underdog
And what of David Arroyo Duran? Who thought he would have turned in the time he did on the slopes of Plan de Corones? This will be his first time up the Mortirolo, not really the circumstances you want to be tackling one of the most famous climbs in the world. But a Spaniard winning the Giro, now what more carrot do you need? Plus he will have seven teammates all determined to control the race at least until the Motirolo. If he rides to limit his loses and still looses 1.30 min, that still gives him nearly a minute going into the final two days.

This is going to be good. Very good.

05.24.10

This Was Epic

This was epic. This Giro keeps giving us some of the most exciting riding I have ever seen, and the Zoncolan stage was a great set-up for a very exciting final week. No amount of team support was helping anyone here, this was down to your own personal ability to suffer. Once on the slopes of the last 10km it was you, your bike and a very steep hill. The Tifosi really did themselves proud. The noise as they saw Basso coming through the Zoncolan bends was incredible. And what a return for Basso. It has been a long way back for him and what a way to announce that you have found your legs again. He visibly looked more fluid than any of the other riders, keeping a metronome pace all the way up, riding everyone off his wheel. Then watching Evans fight back in the upper slopes as he realized his chance to take a Grand Tour was slipping away up the road in front of him. Epic.

Photo: Pentasport/RCS Sport

Brooklyn Gets A Tweed Run

On heading out for a Sunday morning park ride I ran into these guys by Grand Army Plaza. It turned out to be the beginning of Brooklyn’s (and probably New York’s) very own Tweed Run. We posted a heads-up on the original London run a while back, that got an amazing turn out of over four hundred appropriately dressed riders. This run looks like it is just getting started, but the energy was there for this to grow. There seemed to be more of a focus on the outfits than the bikes, although I did spot this beautiful Hetchins above. Whilst the outfits in London seemed to definitely weigh towards the Dandy, some of the rider outfits here had a very cool American Worker look (apart from the guy in the cape and Bowler obviously). We wish them all the best with the run, they get top marks for making the effort.