Bicycling December 2012

UNDER A FOREBODING AFTERNOON SKY, I rode up Sauerkraut Lane with Christine and Leah, out of the saddle but at a social pace. A crew had finished resurfacing the road earlier in the day—the pavers and rollers were parked on the shoulder and the asphalt remained tacky and unpainted. At the top, I flicked a few globs of tar off the front wheel of the Pinarello I was riding. We discussed a Norwegian study correlating housework and divorce, critiqued the lunch options in the cafeteria, and analyzed the dark clouds. We were en route to the cover shoot for this issue, which already had been postponed twice due to stormy weather. My gut said it wouldn’t rain. In any case, I hadn’t felt like driving. I’ve been doing that kind…

Nudged along not only by her love of riding but also by the fear of getting stranded by equipment failures, Portland, Oregon-based writer and mechanic TORI BORTMAN decided her mission in life was “to make repairing and riding bicycles accessible to anyone.” That’s why she opened her shop, Gracie’s Wrench, and why she was ideally suited to write “Rapid Returns” (p. 66), about easy steps to better riding. The photographer in NIGEL COX loved shooting titanium custom bicycles for “Nothing Like It” (p. 48) because of the frames’ stunning aesthetics. “The attention to detail and finishes on the frames were inspired,” he says. But the rider in him was drooling: “The hard part,” he says, “was not taking one out for a ride.” Cox, who lives in Brooklyn, has also…

Our October feature about the Lance Armstrong doping investigation, “Injustice for All,” continues to generate an unprecedented amount of reader feedback. As usual, Bill Strickland gets the yellow jersey for journalism. Those expecting a black or white outcome in the Armstrong case suffer from naïveté. How far back should we strip riders of their wins? Shall we take down Tom Simpson’s memorial on Mont Ventoux? —Khalil Spencer, Los Alamos, NM I just read the Editor’s Letter and Bill Strickland’s article on Lance—great reading. I have always been a Lance supporter, and always will be. Did he dope? Who really knows? But possessed with world-class talent, desire, and unrelenting drive, Lance inspired, pure and simple. Kent Callahan, via e-mail Thank you for speaking for all of us caught between those who…

YOU ARE HERE PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAMES LAURITZ This pristine strip of paradise on Australia’s eastern coastline stretches along a narrow peninsula partially bordered by the 88,000-acre Yuraygir National Park. Bike riding isn’t permitted on park trails, but you can spin along the quiet, unpaved road from the modest resort village of Wooli and wind up on 4 miles of smooth sand that are wide open for cruising. Keep an eye out for pods of migrating dolphins or even a humpback breaching in the turquoise waters. —Jayme Moye CRUISE CONTROL When you’re riding in loose sand, stay seated and keep your weight slightly back. Rest your hands lightly on the handlebar and allow the front tire some play. Pedal continuously and brake lightly, only as needed. —J.M. WHEELS UP DOWN UNDER…

Short days and cool temps make this time of year natural for taking a break from regular riding. But before you hang up your bike and pack on enough pounds to fill out a Santa suit, follow this off-season advice from Stephen Cheung, PhD, coauthor of Cutting-Edge Cycling. First, ditch the term off-season, says Cheung. Think of it more as downtime. To build on what you accomplished this year and come back even better next year, don’t forget you’re a cyclist. “Eat healthy and stay active most days of the week,” Cheung says. Hike with your family. Go for a run. Hit the slopes. It’s also okay to chill out and enjoy the final season of 30 Rock—as long as you don’t park on the couch every night with a…

It was a classic sting operation—and when it was posted on YouTube, Jake Gillum’s bike-recovery video went viral. The cyclist from Portland, Oregon, had spotted his stolen bike in a Craigslist ad. He arranged a meeting with the seller, then drove to the agreed-upon location with some friends and a video camera. After calling the police, he met the seller and started to talk bikes. But the officers didn’t show, and after stalling as long as he could, Gillum accused the seller of stealing his bike. The man fled, and Gillum followed, recording the chase. When police finally got there, they arrested the suspected felon. For any cyclist who has ever had a bike stolen, it doesn’t get much better than that moment of triumph. But consider this advice before…