Dad's House » cycling

Good Samaritan Cyclist Loses the Girl

dadshouse — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:14:52 +0000

I was out cycling this past weekend when I came across two preteen girls on their mountain bikes. One of them was totally frustrated with her bicycle, so the two of them swapped and they started pedaling again. In short time, the other girl became frustrated, too. Seems the chain on one of the bikes was getting caught in the derailleur.

Of course, I stopped to help.

It’s an unwritten rule of cycling that you should offer assistance to any downed cyclist. If an adult is on the side of the road, they’re probably fixing a flat. You say “need anything?” They say “no”. And you both feel you’re part of a larger group that is collectively watching out for each other. (Plus, on rare occasion, someone actually does need help. And you help them.)

If it’s a kid on the road? Forget etiquette, you simply help them.

I asked these two girls if they needed help. “YES!” they said. They were totally happy to be rescued.

Modern bikes have three rings in the front, and seven or nine in the back, giving the rider a ton of gear ratio options. The problem is, if the chain is on the left-most ring in front, and the right-most ring in back, (or vice versa, right to left), the crossover is too severe for the derailleur mechanism, and the chain gets caught.

This is a very common problem with beginning cyclists. And it’s exactly what happened to these girls.

I fiddled with the chain, changed some gears, got things fixed – then explained to them how to avoid the problem. (The simplest approach: keep the chain on the middle ring in front, and go between any rear rings you like in back, and you won’t have problems.)

Back on their way, the girls were totally happy.

At that point I noticed two hottie women in their thirties, across the street, out for a long run together. They were heading the direction I had just come from. As a single man, my immediate thought was to get one of their phone numbers. Yeah, guys think like that. At least I didn’t immediately picture spooning naked with them. (Or I won’t admit it. Ha.)

One problem – it’s pretty near impossible for a cyclist to hit on a runner. Believe me, I’ve tried. Romantic conversation starters are hard to pull off when you’re working out. For a cyclist to hit on two runners who are really going strong? Even harder.

And then it struck me – if the preteen girls hadn’t had their chain problems, I would have whizzed past the runners while I bombed downhill.

So I should be happy that my good Samaritan act gave me a chance to not only help two stranded cyclists, but gave me extra time to view the hottie women running past.

Right?

(I still feel like I should be on a hot date with one of those runners right now. Oy!)

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Podium Girls Polka Dot Passion

dadshouse — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:00:30 +0000

If you’ve been following the 2009 Tour de France, you’ve surely noticed the so-called podium girls who award jerseys and prizes to riders at the end of each stage. Yeah, a little cheesy since podium girls do little more than stand there looking beautiful. But after a grueling day in the saddle, I think the cyclists deserve a kiss on the cheek from a pair of good looking women. And after watching multiple hours of Tour de France coverage, I have to admit, I enjoy seeing the Tour de France podium girls.

2009 Tour de France podium girls:

Stage winner podium girls wear white dresses
Sprint leader podium girls wear white pantsuits
Best young rider podium girls where black dresses
Overall leader podium girls where yellow dresses

My favorite?

King of the Mountain podium girls wear polka dot dresses with huge red bows on their heads.

Every time they come on screen, I pause my Tivo and let out a melancholy sigh. (Here’s a clearer photo of two polka dot podium girls.)

They say youth is wasted on the young. And I say polka dot podium girls are wasted on Tour de France cyclists.

Can someone make me King of the Mountain for a day?

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How Tall is Lance Armstrong?

dadshouse — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:05:41 +0000

(This has nothing to do with single parenting, except that Lance Armstrong is a divorced dad like me, and I’m into cycling, and it’s the dog days of summer, so screw it… Enjoy.)

In recognition of Lance Armstrong’s comeback for the 2009 Tour de France, I thought I’d share some Lance Armstrong facts with you.

How tall is Lance Armstrong? 5’10”, same as me!

How much does the founder of the Livestrong Foundation weigh? 170 lbs., same as me!

What size bike frame does the cancer survivor ride? 57 cm, same as me!

How many Tour de France wins did Lance Armstrong have leading up to the 2009 Tour? 7, same as… er… um…. it’s a record for a reason! (He also has 22 stage victories leading up to the 2009 Tour)

Okay, now you know how tall is Lance Armstrong and other fun facts. For more on Lance and why the 2009 Tour de France is such a magnificent event, pedal on over to the Hot Dads blog and read:

When’s That Tour de France Thing, Anyway!

Then come back and join the peloton for some Friday cocktails.

Go Lance!

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Pop quiz: How tall is Lance Armstrong? … just checking!

Wiki Commons photo by Anita Ritenour, Some rights reserved (CC BY 2.0)

Lance Armstrong and Me on TV!

dadshouse — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:06:27 +0000

Forget fifteen minutes of fame, or even fifteen seconds. I enjoyed FIFTEEN FRAMES of TV time with 7-Time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong when he recently competed in the 2009 Tour of California. Talk about a money shot. Yes, that’s me – Dad’s House author David Mott watching Lance Armstrong cycle uphill in the Solvang time trial.

Let me just say – woo-hoo!

My kids and I have been regular watchers of the Tour of California during its short history. We’ve seen finishes in San Luis Obispo, a few Solvang time trials, and a prologue at Stanford University. (I happened to ride along with Big Jens Voigt during one of his training rides. I kept up with him for a solid 15 seconds, at least!)

This past week, my son and I ventured south to watch the Solvang time trial again. My son helped chalk the road with cheers for Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Floyd Landis, George Hincapie, Steven Cozza, Yaroslov Popovych, et. al. (If you recognize more names than Lance and Levi, you are a true cycling fan.)

The Tour of California Solvang time trial is great! A different rider starts every minute, and with over a hundred riders, we were entertained by the grimacing faces of world class cyclists like Italian sprinter Francesco Chicchi for nearly two hours. Spectators get right on the edge of the road, and cyclists somestimes ride just inches away. When Lance Armstrong came by, he hugged the side of the road so close, I had to lean back so we didn’t collide.

Some spectators wear crazy costumes, like Big Hair Superfan. This was our second picture with him at the Solvang Time trial. Last time, we thought he looked more like Nacho Libre than an extreme cycling fan. It’s all good!

If you have a chance to catch a stage of the Tour of California some year – do it! It features many of the world class cyclists from the Tour de France. And with Lance Armstrong back in the fold, the 2009 version was even better.

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Lance Armstrong Tells Vanity Fair of Tour de France Comeback

dadshouse — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:01:10 +0000

Lance Armstrong told Vanity Fair in an exclusive interview that he plans to come out of retirement and race in next year’s Tour de France. How cool is that? He won 7 consecutive Tours. A win in 2009 will give him 8 victories.

Lance, of course, is a single dad. And he was raised by a single mom. More on his single-parentness in a sec.

Why is he coming back? The Vanity Fair piece says that while competing in a Colorado mountain bike race, he had a primal sort of realization that he needed to ride again in the Tour de France. His goal is to win it, of course. He’s already training – doing core stuff, power stuff, “changing shit up”.

Lance Armstrong staging a comeback sounds awesome. I’m a big fan of cycling. I ride my Bianchi road bike as much as possible. I watch three-week-long stage races on Tivo like the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia. I enjoy the classics like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. My kids and I have twice attended the Tour of California, scoring some cool autographs from international cyclists like Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vandevelde, and Big Jens Voigt.

One really cool thing about the Vanity Fair interview was the glimpse it gave of Lance and his relationship to his ex-wife, Kristin Armstrong. (Kristin authors the blog Mile Markers for Runner’s World. I like her writing as it often shows nice self-awareness.) They live near each other in Austin. They both spend time with the kids. She was one of the first two people he told of his comeback attempt, along with his mom, Linda Armstrong Kelly.

While the interviewer was dining with Lance, getting the skinny on this comeback attempt, Lance received a text message from Kristin and took a moment to write her back. As he explained, “my ex-wife is a very important lady to me. She is somebody I’m very close to.”

I know that feeling – my ex and I communicate every single day. We email and phone about all things co-parenting related. Our kids are our number one priority, and we respect and appreciate each other’s roles in our children’s lives. Even divorced, we’re in this child-rearing thing together.

From one divorced single dad to another, I wish Lance Armstrong the best of luck in his comeback attempt. Go kick some ass. Win the Tour de France in 2009!

Vive le Tour.

Lance Armstrong gratuitous flesh by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair.

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Tour de France Autographs

dadshouse — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:36:45 +0000

When Tour de France cyclists rolled through California the past two years, my kids and I were there to watch, snapping photos and grabbing autographs from international cycling greats. We caught a couple stage finishes in San Luis Obispo (one in the rain) and a time trial in Solvang. And this year in Palo Alto, I actually rode with Team CSC’s Big Jens Voigt. (Okay, so he was on a training ride and I happened to be there, and barely kept pace with him for 200 yards. Whatever – I rode with him!)

As for the autographs – the cyclists were dining en masse in San Luis Obispo at the Madonna Inn. My son hovered near the dining room entrance and scored signatures from the argyle armada Team Slipstream riders Danny Pate and Steven Cozza. Then a woman involved with the race asked if he wanted to meet other cyclists. “Yeah,” he said. She led him into the dining room. We can almost make out all the names.

If anyone can figure out some of those autographs, feel free to chime in. Possible candidates: Ivan Basso, Tommy Danielson, Allan Davis, Jason McCartney, Brian Vandborg, Johan Bruyneel

First, my son met Team Discovery, the former US Postal Team that supported Lance Armstrong through 7 Tour de France wins. There was Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Ivan Basso, and the rest eating dinner together. (Team Discovery has since disbanded, and the cyclists ride for teams like Team Astana, Team High Road (now Team Columbia), and the Argyle Armada – the former Team Slipstream, now Garmin-Chipotle.)

My son told them about his BMX trick bike with pegs. They asked if he had a road bike like ones they road, and he told them, “No, but my dad does.”

When a table full of international cyclists give their nods of approval, definitely Dad points scored.

“Does your dad race?” they asked.
“Nah,” my son said. “I think he’s pretty slow.”
Ouch.

He went on to meet members of Team CSC, including Jens Voigt (my aforementioned riding partner), Stuart O’Grady, and Christian Van de Velde. Everyone was super nice to my son, not only signing autographs but chatting him up in the process.

The great thing for cycling fans at Tour events is sitting right on the edge of the road. Here are photos from the 2007 Amgen Tour of California Solvang time trial.

Rabobank’s Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano

Team Slipstream cyclist Danny Pate riding for the Argyle Armada

Hey, it’s Nacho Libre!

Team CSC cyclist Big Jens Voigt

Fast Freddie Rodriguez

Love the winged helmet and huge American flag

Stuart O’Grady from Team CSC

Levi Leipheimer en route to winning the Tour of California. (Sadly, Levi and Team Astana aren’t allowed to ride in this year’s Tour de France, through no fault of his own)

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