Just Another Cyclist

Signing Off

Ross — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:27:54 +0000

Life has a way of presenting us with opportunities to review and take stock of what we have done. JustAnotherCyclist is at that kind of crossroads right now. I’ve put a great deal into this website–and got an even greater amount back from it and my readers. JustAnotherCyclist will always be near and dear to my heart, but–like [...]

Ready…. Joust!

Ross — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:32:39 +0000

I’m sure I’m not the only one that has imagined it – bicycle jousting. The subject came up in an email chain at work (draw your own conclusions there) so I went poking around. Sure enough, there were links and videos a-plenty: Much to my surprise, it apparently appeared in a movie as well: And [...]

Happy cyclist excuse day!

Ross — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:14:10 +0000

Cyclist excuse day? But isn’t it Thanksgiving? Yes. Yes it is. Thanksgiving is the day when, all across the country, countless individuals, groups and clubs are going out on casual or social rides with friends and competitors. It is a time to get on the bike in full kit to ride 12 miles an hour [...]

But what about the children?

Ross — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:32:47 +0000

Here in the United States, children in the millions take part in organized sports every day. Little league, youth soccer, swimmers, and pee-wee football all have organizations ranging from casual, neighborhood games up to state and national competitive clubs. At the higher levels of these organizations, talent is identified, developed and groomed from a very [...]

Pelotons, Breakaways, Grupettos, Life

Ross — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:44:19 +0000

Stage races in cycling are simultaneously odd and beautiful. The ebb and flow, the dynamics of the group, are something to behold. People peel off the front, hoping to either capture their 5 minutes of fame, or establish themselves as an alpha member of the stage, expected to ride on to great things. In the [...]

Burning Man Bikes

Ross — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:17:11 +0000

The below photo – courtesy of Up Town Almanac – is apparently a collection of bikes left behind at the Burning Man Festival. My question is this – how the heck did they get them all up there in the first place? And what’s it gonna take to get them down?

More cycling parodies – srsly

Ross — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:45:13 +0000

We all know “Its all about performance” Well – if you don’t know, then go find out now! Next up in line is an all new serious cyclist. It is good to make fun of yourself!

Cell phones and cyclists in California

Ross — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:14:31 +0000

Ooops… Looks like there were some inaccuracies in my original story. I’ve taken the content offline while I do more research.

Fuzzy bike

Ross — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:19:20 +0000

I’ve seen fuzzy bikes before – but this may just be the fuzziest. Spotted at San Francisco Caltrain station.

Recent gang violence on American River Bike Trail

Ross — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:32:28 +0000

Be careful out there on your training or casual rides, folks. The Sacramento cycling mailing lists have been abuzz with reports of an incident of gang violence against an unnamed Rio Strada rider recently. According to the circulated report: Hey all, Last night after the generic ride I was riding solo from Sac St to [...]

Met my new nemisis – Old La Honda Road

Ross — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:13:31 +0000

Old La Honda Road. Probably anyone that has been riding a bike in the Bay Area / Peninsula region for any length of time has heard of it. It is a staple – the benchmark of climbing in the area. Without too much poking around on the internet you can find the times on the [...]

Commuter benefit before Governor

Ross — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:09:29 +0000

California SB 582 has passed and is now awaiting signature from the Governor Jerry Brown. This bill allows regional planning authorities to require employers to offer commuter benefits – pre-tax deductions that can be use for public transportation or cycling costs incurred by bike commuting. That’s right, you may soon have the opportunity to pay [...]

Welcome to Hoogerland

Ross — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:31:29 +0000

Update: These are now available for pre-order at Stomach of Anger. From @stomachofanger comes this gem – which truly needs no further comment: If these do become publicly available, you’ll be able to find them at http://stomachofanger.com.

Finally I can post about the Tour de France

Ross — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:35:31 +0000

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been fairly silent about this year’s Tour de France. To be honest the first week was kinda hard to watch – and I was not really motivated to write about it much. It is unfortunate when the most dramatic moments of the race have been the result [...]

Cycling blog roundup

Ross — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:24:39 +0000

If you are reading this, there is a fair chance you are a fan of cycling blogs. Obviously I am… So in true Follow Friday (#FF) fashion, I thought I share some of my favorite cycling blogs. Well – favorite other than JustAnotherCyclist.com or VeloReviews.com that is. The Lazy Randonneur is a recent discovery for [...]

Compromise in the great hemet debate

Ross — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:09:54 +0000

Cycling helmets seem to be a recurring theme here on JustAnotherCyclist as of late. To wear or not to wear. To promote or not to promote. Blah blah blah… There has got to be some way to resolve the issue. Perhaps with better technology? Folks seem pretty happy with the air bags in their cars. [...]

Christopher Walken, Voigt and Horner

Ross — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:11:33 +0000

I was sitting in my new favorite greasy spoon – Heidis Pies on El Camino Real in San Mateo – when Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” came on the radio. As I was half-listen while reading the latest issue of Road Bike Action magazine, I could hear the cowbell in my head. Only, [...]

Fox Racing’s Rig Stolen

Ross — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:08:27 +0000

Both Singletrack and Bike Rumor are reporting that the Fox Racing equipment has been stolen. Keep your eyes peeled folks. According to Fox: The entire FOX RACING SHOX RACE Trailer and FORD F550 Truck was stolen late Monday night 6/27, in route to the UCI World Cup event in Mount Sainte Anne, Canada. The truck [...]

The ultimate gizmo bike

Ross — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:26:57 +0000

I’ve always felt there was a strong affinity between technology folks and cycling. Admittedly I spend a fair amount of time in Silicon Valley, so my opinion may be somewhat biased. The cycling industry itself has its own fair share of cool gizmos for all of us Freds to drop or hard earned cash on. [...]

What do we make of Tyler Hamilton?

Ross — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:49:55 +0000

If you haven’t yet had a chance to see the 60 Minutes interviews with Tyler Hamilton regarding the doping allegations against Lance Armstrong, I’ve included the video below (parts 1 and 2). So now the question is – what do you make of this situation? Is Hamilton believable? If so, what does that mean for [...]

Floyd Landis Legal Team

Ross — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:56:11 +0000

Floyd Landis continues to have his name surface in cycling media, and it is doubtful that will change any time soon. Ever since he leveled his original allegations at several American pro cyclists, he has garnered nearly as much media coverage off of the bike as he did on the bike. Whistle blower to some, [...]

Wobblebikes

Ross — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:06:14 +0000

Tall bikes? Down right commonplace. Futuristic bikes of tomorrow? Soooo yesterday. But Wobblebiks. Now that’s where its at! (Can you hear the sarcasm there?) I seriously don’t know what to say about these. Here’s a quote from their own page: “It must be difficult to ride”: Yes it’s absolutely impossible to ride! I can still [...]

Wheel Truing – from Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs

Ross — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:48:34 +0000

You can find the craziest bits of information in the strangest places. There is no question that the late Sheldon Brown’s website is the go-to site for bicycle technical information on the internet. However, clearly there are other repositories of cycling wisdom out there too. What I didn’t expect was to find an extremely articulate [...]

The ultimate goal of bike culture

Ross — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:19:03 +0000

Note: I originally wrote this as a guest piece for the awesome BikingInLA blog. Seeing a video posted over on Cyclelicious reminded me a lot of the sentiment of this post, so I decided to share it again. There are many of us so-called avid cyclists that are big on participating in, but also promoting [...]

The Xtracycle track bike

Ross — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:48:13 +0000

The Xtracycle is, in my opinion, the ultimate cargo bike. Doesn’t matter if that cargo is groceries, a Laz-y-boy chair, or a couple of children, it can be carried on one of these. And the cool thing about these is that you can actually buy just the cargo-carrying parts and convert your favorite frame into [...]

Coming out of the closet: I Hate Helmets

Ross — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:09:25 +0000

I’ve been doing a fence-straddling maneuver here at JustAnotherCyclist regarding the issue of bicycle helmets. Again I will reiterate that I do not encourage folks to go about without a helmet. Nor do I encourage you to ride with one. It is entirely your choice (except for areas where specific laws apply.) My frustration comes [...]

Rider risks injury to beat bike lane ticket

Ross — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:07:08 +0000

Bike lanes are both a blessing and a curse, and anybody that has done much commuting in urban environments has likely experienced both sides of that. On the blessing side, studies have demonstrated that bike lanes do, in fact, encourage more folks to ride. However, it may also create a false sense of security, and [...]

Go Liza Go!

Ross — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:36:28 +0000

Liza Rachetto is a pro cyclist with the Primal/MapMyRide women’s team. She has started spreading news of some of her racing tales at her blog “Racing Rachetto.” In addition to her blogging efforts, Liza is also the Women’s editor for VeloReviews.com and the VeloReviews podcast. Liza has not only enjoyed success in the saddle. She [...]

Exploring new areas

Ross — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:17:09 +0000

I hadn’t really realized how much I had become used to riding on the same ol’ roads and paths around my family’s home in Sacramento. I had several routes I already knew of, and was familiar enough with them to match them to whatever my particular goal was for the ride. If I wanted to [...]

Chris Horner on diet, cafes and California

Ross — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:21:16 +0000

I found it particularly rewarding to watch Chris Horner win the 2011 Amgen Tour of California. Horner is one of my favorite riders in the peloton. As anyone that has been reading my posts will have noticed, I’m primarily a Leopard-Trek fan. Or, more precisely, I’m a Voigt, Schleck, Schleck and Cancellara fan, and they [...]