How long does it take to get totally wet?

My teammate Tris estimates 3.2 seconds. After yesterday, that seems about right to me.
We cyclists like to think we can control the weather: bring the fender if you want to keep the rain away. Definitely don’t wash your bike the day before. I always feel satisfied when I’ve ‘cheated’ the rain [...]

In a rush to nowhere

How high will gasoline need to before there is a fundamental change in driving habits? My teammate Tris and I have talked about this several times, and as I recall our guess was $6/gallon.
I’ve noticed some small change already: I now see 5-10 bikes parked outside at work, where last year there were maybe one [...]

Cow town

During my college days at Denison I had to endure the jokes about Ohio from the prep school kids from “back east”. Columbus in particular, being nearby, had a reputation as a “cow town”. Never mind that those of us from Cleveland called it that too.
Driving to Columbus for the state time trial [...]

Why Frankenmuth?

It’s Friday night, and I’m sitting in a budget motel room in Frankenmuth, Michigan, watching The Karate Kid, which won out over the Weather Channel. The race the next morning starts early, and I need to get to sleep. Unfortunately The Karate Kid is one of those movies that I can’t turn off.
I’m also overcome [...]

Play it as it lies

You don’t normally make a connection between golf and bike racing. You can actually drink beer and smoke cigars while playing golf. I’ve never seen that while cycling (well, I’ve heard about those crazy mountain bikers).

But last weekend the combination of bike racing and the U.S. Open tournament got me thinking …
Saturday evening I flipped [...]