Dear PooBah: Friday Mail

Ah dear readers, it's finally Friday.  And what a week we've had.  There have been stories of other cycling bloggers getting to join Team RadioShack for training camp, and reports of disgruntled members of the Garmin-Transition Team over the exiting of Bradley Wiggans. It just goes to show that the world of cycling is forever in motion, despite the number of hours we, the obsessed, have asses planted firmly in office chairs while we watch it unfold on the internet.  But no matter, Friday also means it's time for the old PooBah to dip into the mailbag.  So let's get it on!

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Dear PooBah-
Not long ago I read a great article in a magazine about how to make inexpensive upgrades to your bicycle.  I've come up with one of my own that I really wanted to share with your readers.  My son was always pestering me about wanting to go riding with me on my bike, but I know that letting him ride on the handlebars is too dangerous, and I simply don't have the money for one of those fancy kid bike seats or trailers - so check out what I came up with for him!
Yours -
Bobby J.

Dear Bobby

Sweet MacGyver, that is a great idea!  It appears as though you've bolted a plastic kid's chair to your rear luggage rack.  Nicely done.  One word of advice - you may want to consider rattle-canning that thing black, I'm worried about the emotional scars your son will suffer being forced to ride around in a pink seat.

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Dear PooBah-

Long time reader, first time writer.  I play bike polo in Eugene, Oregon, and as the 3rd alternate goal keeper for my team, I would like to extend to you an invitation to come out and play with us sometime.  We can provide you with a bike and equipment, and you can even shack with me.

Looking forward to seeing you soon-

Jame Gumm

Dear Mr. Gumm,

Wow, thanks so much for the invite.  Man, you know - I'm sitting here looking at my calendar trying to figure out when I can make it out there to Eugene and hook up with you, and it just occured to me that I think I might be working on a herniated disk in my back, thus preventing me from being able to pretty much move for the next year or two.  But best of luck to you, and your DeadBaby Team!

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Dear PooBah-

You have to help me with my daughter - I am so worried about her.  Yesterday I caught her playing with her Barbies by a small puddle of water that has formed by our road.  She had them arranged in some pretty troubling poses WITH their little Barbie bicycles (see attached photo).  What could this all mean?

Please Help!

Dolores H.

Dear Dolores-

Looks like she is ready to try cyclocross.

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Dear PooBah-

One question:  Shimano or Campy when it comes to cranks?

Thanks!

Dillon

Dillon-

I've done an extensive search on the manufacturing practices and industry standards of both companies and can only find one difference when it comes to these two components.  The distinguishing factor is in the inspection process where I think Campagnolo might have a leg up because of who they have historically had closely examine each crank. (Insert tasteless religion-related joke based on "crank-examination" double entendre here.)

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Dear PooBah,

I've been eyeing this Brooks Saddle on ebay for a week now, but just cannot decide if it's worth the money based on the photo.  The seller says she has some additional photos she can provide upon request, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble.  What do you think?  The auction ends tonight.

Thanks!

J. Magoo

Mr. Magoo-

Have the seller email me the additional photos directly.  I will examine them closely and get back with you.  Hurry.  We don't want to lose the chance to get a closer look at these....this....whatever.

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Dear PooBah-

I absolutely love my pet, Mr. Muckles, and miss him terribly when I am out riding. I read with great interest one of your previous posts on the potential use of sidecars in which one could carry along their fuzzy companions.  But there just aren't a lot of options out there when it comes to purchasing one, and plus - the available models are really expensive.  Furthermore, my little guy loves to actually run, versus just being happy to ride along,  so I've been working on an alternative way Mr. Muckles could come along with me, and even participate in my daily ride!  Check it out!

Sincerely,

Wanda M.

Dear Wanda-

If you haven't hired a patent attorney yet, you better get yourself one quick, sister.  I think you are sitting on a gold mine.

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Thanks, as ever, for reading everyone.  Have a great weekend and ride safe!

Pedal on!

Why We Blog

There is a curious relationship between the desire to ride a bike, be it for purposes of commuting to work, to race, to spin down a tree-lined trail, to lose weight, to dart in and out of traffic with a messenger bag, to smack around a ball with a mallet, or purely as a means of transportation and the desire of cyclists to express themselves regarding the significance (or lack thereof) of their pedaling.    Books have been written, magazines published and movies made about the seemingly simple act of pedaling a bike.  And now, we cyclists have permeated through the blogosphere like a rancid TriBerry-flavored GU gel through a Cat V racing noob.

There are literally thousands of cycling blogs online these days ranging from the purely informative to those that are personal cycling diaries in which daily rides are described with excrutiating detail including miles logged, road conditions, wind direction, what was eaten for breakfast...etc, etc....all documented as though the writer/cyclist is a WWII fighter pilot being debriefed after his mission.  Who reads all of this?

Making sense of all the cycling blogs can be a daunting task.  In fact, the entire purpose of one blog titled www.bikeblogs.com is to categorize, and thereby organize, all of the other cycling blogs.  Consider it your rolodex for cycling blogdom.  For example, referring to bikeblogs.com, you can search the subcategory of single-speed cycling blogs specifically. Within this category, one can find a wide variety of blogs supposedly focusing on singlespeeds that range from the obligatory "I Heart Single Speeds" (iheartsinglespeed.blogspot.com) to the slightly more disconcertingly titled "The One Eyed View From The Saddle" (zekesbiken.blogspot.com).  Regarding the former, I wonder if we could declare a moratorium on the entire "I Heart (insert your favorite obsession here)" phraseology.  I think we all get that "heart" is a cute way to verbalize what is more creatively represented by an actual drawing of a heart meant to represent 'love.'

But we now know that love doesn't originate in the heart, but rather the brain, and a very specific part of the brain in actuality, called the medial insula of the cerbral cortex. I know - the words medula insula just don't seem to work.  "I medial insula you!" Regarding the latter single speed blog mentioned above - I don't really want to know what 'one-eyed view from the saddle' the author is referring to.  However, I'm guessing it describes where his particular feelings of 'love' originate, as opposed to either his medula insula or his heart, for that matter.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, there is a recent post that can help you prioritize the seemingly endless ocean of cycling blogs: the London Cyclist Blog's  list of the Top 50 cycling blogs.  I will spare you the suspense of having to follow the link and just give you the top 3 here:

1. BikePortland.org
2. Bike Snob NYC
3. FatCyclist.com

As we all know by now, Portland is the cycling capital of the US and possible center of the universe, and will therefore henceforth be referred to as Bike-Mecca. Fair enough.  As any self-respecting Mecca, it must have its gospel, thus we will honor BikePortland.org as the most successful cycling blog.  Second on the list is a personal favorite, and role model for the PooBah, the illustrious BSNYC.

In case you didn't know, BSNYC now writes for, among other periodicals, Bicycling and Outside magazines, and has recently secured a book deal.  He gives the entire world of frustrated bike bloggers (present company included) hope that, we too may one day quit our soul crushing day jobs and spend the best hours of our days writing about our obsession.

And that leaves the third most popular bike blog on the list: FatCyclist, represented by a logo including a Clydesdale with the slogan "Heavyweight Horsepower."

FatCyclist is a truly inspired piece of writing from a man who rides to stay alive - originally to assist in his weight loss, and then to help him deal with his wife's battle with breast cancer.  With the assistance of his blog, Team Fatty became the most financially successful LiveStrong Challenge Team ever in that it raised more than half a million dollars for cancer research.  Just two months ago, Elden "Fatty" Nelson lost his wife, Susan, to breast cancer.  The cycling blogosphere came together in a response to the post of his wife's death titled "Don't Say She Lost" with unprecedented solidarity and sensitivity.  If you've never read this particular post - you may want to take a peek.  To date, this singular post has received 2,441 responses and inspired a resurgent campaign of cycling defiance to cancer called "Fight Like Susan" with its own pink Twin Six jersey, perhaps particularly poignant now during breast cancer awareness month:

The reason cyclists blog is no giant mystery.  We like to feel connected.  We like to know those miles we spin mean something and have a purpose greater than just the appearance of the digital numbers on the odometer.  Maybe that purpose is just to stay in shape.  Maybe it's to appreciate a road out in the countryside more than it could ever be appreciated from the inside of a car.  Maybe it's to exert an effort beyond what we thought we were ever capable of.  Maybe it's to let us ride away from those demons that chase us, or to ride toward those goals that lie just ahead.  Maybe it's to help us fight for people we love, like Elden rode for his wife Susan.  But as we ride, we cyclists have the need to talk about our adventures - whether that's over coffee at the half way point, or a beer at the end of the ride or on the pages of a blog on the internet.  In this way, blogging seems to have become as much a part of cycling culture as Saturday morning rides starting from the local bike shop.   Reading a post like Elden's certainly displays that the power of cycling is felt as much in the legs and lungs on the bike as it is in the heart and mind through words.

Pedal on!