You want a Bike?

I got your Bike right *here*!!
I remember when I first started riding again in 2003 after a 20+ year hiatus I really didn't know what kind of Bike I wanted, I didn't know where I would be riding it but I just knew I wanted to start riding a Bike again.

Luckily, and completely by accident I think I made the right choice, I bought a $250 "Hybrid".

So what's a Hybrid, does it run on Gas and Electricity? No, it's a cross between a Road and Mountain Bike. They're normally pretty heavy, fairly comfy and easy to ride. You can ride them on the Street, on a Bike Path, along the Boardwalk and even take them offroad on beginners' Trails.

The best thing about a Hybrid is that you can start riding, it's a good first step. Eventually, if you stick with it you'll also discover where you want to ride, maybe you'll develop a proclivity towards offroad riding but find you can't climb Hills on it as good as People on a Mountain Bike (MTB), you can follow them on rougher, more technical Trails, you need a Montain Bike!

Or maybe you enjoy riding on a paved MUP (Multi Use Path) and on the street but find that Riders are zooming past you with seemingly little effort, so instead of your upright Body acting as Sail, you need something a lot more aerodynamic and something which is built for speed, so you need a Road Bike!

Or you could realize you don't like Cycling at all...

In that case, you can simply hang it in the Garage and forget about it, you haven't wasted that much money.

If you decide you love riding...

Then welcome to the dark side. Now you need a Mountain or Road Bike and can spend many thousands of Dollars in the years to come. The price Tags on each can vary from hundreds to thousands of Dollars and it can be pretty daunting. There are many Bike Manufacturers all claiming their Bikes are the best but it all comes down to which one takes you fancy. I still wouldn't recommend spending a fortune on your first Road Bike, they will all feel really wierd at first when you make the transition, nothing will feel right. So, the best thing to do is spent maybe $7-800 on one, ride it a lot to get the feel of the riding position, I would recommend 1500-2000 miles which sounds a lot but really isn't, then if you decide you want to trade up then you will be knowledgable enough to know what feels good and what doesn't. Bikes depreciate at an alarming rate so a mistake can be very costly.

The most important factor is fit if the Bike doesn't fit you'll be very uncomfortable, you will waste a lot of power and just be miserable. The best way is to go to a reputable Bike Shop, my favorite in Irvine is Irvine Bicycles (Used to be Sand Canyon Cyclery), get measured for the right size and get a custom fitting once the Bike is assembled, it will make a world of difference and help prevent any repetitive motion injuries.

At the end of the Day, whatever type of riding you do, have fun and always wear a Helmet!!

Cycling is the new Golf

Is it Bollocks! And as Mark Cavendish said "Golf is a pastime, not a sport, if you're not out of breath it's not a Sport" So that just about sums it up.

So let's Analize this daft saying a little. What does whoever came up with this really mean? How can anyone even compare the two? Let's face it, Baseball isn't really a Sport either and it's kinda like Golf, all you have to do is hit a Ball with a Bat or Club, and guess what, a Baseball Bat looks more like a Club than a Golf Club does...but back to Golf.
If you're a Golfer and am thinking of taking up Cycling, think again, it's way more expensive, how much is a good set of Clubs? You can buy a set with a Bag for $200, a good Bike on the other Hand costs thousands of Dollars, and it doesn't even come with a Bag or a Rag attachment for polishing your Balls.
Cycling is way more dangerous than Golfing because for a start, a Golf Cart has four Wheels, not two so it's much easier to fall over. And how often have you been cut off by a massive truck on the Green? Not once I'm willing to bet.



Forget networking with your Clients and sucking up to your Boss on a Bike, you'll both be too out of breath to even talk because you've been spending your weekends driving around in a Golf Cart!! True, there are no green fees on a Bike but most of you peasants only fork out $5 a round anyway because you can only afford to play on a Public course at the intersection of two major Freeways surrounded by a fourty Foot Chainlink Fence.

But wait a minute. Maybe Cycling is safer than Golf.

But it's still not a Sport.

What?!! How Much?!!!

Factor 001 the $30,000 Bike

If you already own the Bugatti Veyron and are thinking of taking up Cycling consider the Factor 001 training bike. It has been designed by BERU f1 systems and it comes with Formula One racing technology which will make sure you are riding the most advanced bike ever. It has loads of Hi-Tech Computer hardware built into the Frame and a GPS system integrated into the Handlebars.

It comes with made to measure carbon fiber frame plus built in accelerometers which monitor your expensive bike’s speed, torque levels, and also crank cadence. However do not expect such a wondrous instrument for anything less than $30,000.

The software for this ultra expensive bike will set you back but another $10,000 !!

Why all Cyclists should live in Irvine

It's mid-January and while the "Other side" of the Country is in the Freezer Cyclists here in Southern California, including Irvine are happily Cranking away up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. OK, with a bone-chilling-to-us 48 degrees in the morning a Light Jacket is a good idea, but after an hour into the ride it is either tied around your Waist or unzipped and flapping in the wind, or should I say "Ocean Breeze" to rub it in further?

The Irvine California Climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and cool during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 50's.
The warmest month of the year is August with an average maximum temperature of 85.40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is December with an average minimum temperature of 40.40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate during summer with a difference that can reach 24 degrees Fahrenheit, and moderate during winter with an average difference of 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

But this is the best reason for all Cyclists to live in Irvine
The annual average precipitation at Irvine is only 13.87 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is February with an average rainfall of 3.07 Inches.





Don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting in any way that all Cyclists move here, that would push our extortionate House Prices up even further and we don't need any more Traffic on our congested Freeways.

If you're still tempted and would like to find out more about living in Irvine, why not visit TalkIrvine.com by clicking on the Button on the right hand side of this Page, you will be able to interact with some very friendly and knowledgeable Irvine Residents and learn about Housing, Rental Communities, Restaurants and all kinds of good stuff.

See you there!!

Rock Racing denied UCI Pro Licence

But it doesn't mean Rock are out of business but seeing as this Blog is supposed to be all about Cycling in and around Irvine and Rock Racing, based in LA, is our closest big Team. Oh well, better luck next time.


Rock Racing has been denied Professional Continental status by the Union Cycliste Internationale after appealing against an earlier rejection of its application.
According to the UCI, the team's registration appeal was heard by the organisation's management committee and rejected.

The news will come as a blow to the controversial US-based team run by Rock and Republic jeans owner Michael Ball. The squad had hoped to successfully register as Professional Continental and then gain wildcard status in order to contest selected ProTour events.
Just this week the team had been the centre of rumours suggested that they were about to sign former Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni.

Rock Racing has been registered as Continental - the rung below Professional Continental - since its inception in 2007.
Two teams were successful in having their appeals heard by the UCI management committee - Androni Giocattoli and Xacobeo Galicia Team have both now been registered as Professional Continental after having their original applications rejected.

It's what I will ride

After my crash everyone was asking whether I would ride again, including the Doctors and Nurses "Of course" !! I replied, in fact, I was a little surprised that People were even asking. So a couple of Months after leaving Hospital I got my short-term memory and concentration back.... What was I saying? Oh yeah...plus the Casts were removed from both of my Hands so I could use a Laptop so I had all kinds of time on my Hands to research and shop for a new Bike, I knew that I needed one ready to go when I was ready to ride, it was kind of a psychological thing, something to strive for.

A PT Nurse told me that Patients with my kind of mindset recover much faster than those that just lay there and give up - so I was on the right Track!!

My 2010 Pinarello FP3 is now mounted in my stationary Trainer, I was measured for the Bike and my 53cm fits perfectly, there is quite a lot more seat-post showing now that I have the Saddle adjusted and the Steerer tube still needs to be cut down to size but it will do right now while I gain back my flexibility.

Why Pinarello? After all, there are so many different Bike Manufacturers around including Specialized, Colnago, Cervelo, Felt, Scott and the list goes on. I've always wanted a Pinarello, I guess it's as simple as that!! But more importantly, the Pinarello, although not the lightest Kid on the Block, is one of the better built, it's a moncoque design, meaning it's all in one piece when it comes out of the mold, so nothing can come apart, it's better than bonding two tubes together. The rear Seat and Chainstay triangle is of an asymmetrical design, meaning they strengthened the Drive-side by adding more material because this is the side that all the power is transferred through to the Road.

Components again are a matter of choice, my last Bike was adorned with Campagnolo Record 10 Carbon/Titanium Components but this time around, seeing as I had to replace everything all at once I wanted to keep the initial price lower so I opted for SRAM Force, the choice of a lot of Criterium Racers, and I'm really happy with it although I've never ridden the Bike on the Street the feel of changing up and down through the Gears is really awesome. I'm getting very accustomed to the new way of changing, one click for the rear Cogs and it's decision time let the Lever go and you drop into a smaller Cog, click one more time to the left and the Chain rises to a Bigger one simple!!

Wheelset this is the best place to put upgrade money. The Pinarello came with some good, strong Fulcrum Racing 5 Training Wheels, perfect for my first couple of months of street riding, after all, I won't be trying to break any records, merely getting confidence back for riding outside, after I'm finally allowed to ride outside that is, the Fulcrums are perfectly fine on the Trainer, you don't wanna run spendy ones on one anyway. I have been considering SRAM S60 wheels which are part Aluminum, part Carbon Fiber, we'll see.

The rest of the Components Bars, Stem, Seat Post, Saddle, Bottle Cages are all MOst , manufactured for Pinarello, they are their own Component brand and match perfectly, the Brakes are FSA manufactured for Most. By the way, the Seat Post is Carbon wrapped with an Aluminum core which I prefer because I know several Riders who have had broken Carbon Seat-Posts which can end with horrible consequences.

The Pinarello FP3 is an awesome Bike for the price however, the Paint job is absolutely outstanding, it might not be a Dogma or even Prince, it's not even an FP7 but the cost of a Di2 equipped Dogma is out of the Stratosphere at $16,500 but is arguably the best Bike in the world!

I need to start buying Lottery Tickets in 2010!!

In the meanwhile, I will post a full review when I finally get to take it on the Road.

Fixie this!!

I love my London Langster His name is Winston and we've had a lot of fun together. But a lot of People who have never ridden a Fixed or single speed often ask why? Especially because Gears were invented years ago. I bought mine a couple of years ago, they were introduced by Specialized in limited numbers and being British I just had to have one.
The first thing I noticed is how smoothly it runs on the street, the lack of front and rear Durailleurs makes for a smooth, quiet ride. It's geared for the flat terrain of Irvine and I use it as my Commuter Bike, I've also ridden it across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Winston is shown above outside a little Cafe' in Solvang and who needs a Bike Lock when you have a British Bulldog guarding Him?
A Fixed or single speed really improves your Cadence and 360 degree Pedal stroke, great training for the Road Bike. The lack of maintenance is really cool too, no gears to adjust, no gears to change - you just use your Legs to go faster or slower.

There are many different kinds of fixed and single speed on the market right now, the younger crowd love them, thankfully they seem to have replaced noisy and annoying Skateboards, or perhaps I'm just showing my age now.

If you've never ridden a single speed, do it! You might like it.