If the weather is just out of range of your kit but you need to get out for that ride just take a look around your home–all it takes is a little enginuity and you’ll be out the door and on the road. I’ve seen wool sweaters under a windbreaker, newspaper stuffed into the shoes and more. If you have a favorite winter hack let us know in the comments.

Today’s kludge consisted of windproofing with gaffer tape and saran wrap.

Just a little gaffer tape on the front of a non-windproof shoe cover will take the edge off.

A single sheet of saran wrap below the top two lycra layers stopped the wind without collecting too much sweat.

On August 7 on a rainy course Randhy Rodriguez won the final race of the Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup series and took the overall title. Congratulations Randhy! Looking forward to your upgrade to Cat 4.

Randhy Rodriguez photo finish

Randhy Rodriguez with first place trophy

Results at spasport.com:

Full results

Results by race

Location: New Hampshire
Distance: 7.6 Miles
Elevation Gain: 6288ft

There are a number of Mount Washington’s on the East Coast. but only one lays claim to the highest peak in the NorthEast, and that is “The Rock Pile” in N.H.

Described as “the toughest hillclimbs in the world” the Auto Road Hill Climb had been a goal of mine for some time so after a good season of racing I woke up at 8am on a cold Sunday in February to join the registration rush for the following August’s event (online registration usually fills up within the first half hour of being posted!).

Mt. Washington on a clear day

After reading the forums and adding some special training to my schedule I made a few adjustments to my bike to prepare for Mt. Washington. I, like many others, may not have properly respected the “hors categorie” rating of the beast and thought I could get away with a modest 30-25 chainring combo. After all, it was “only” a 7.6 mile course up a hill…

As soon as we hit the first slope it became clear to me that I had made a mistake. In the Garmin charts below you can see what a drag it is being overgeared.

CADENCE: The red line represents my minimum cadence to output proper power. Whoops! I really could have used a few more teeth on that cassette!!!

ELEVATION: Note the positively monotonous elevation gain from beginning to end--there is nowhere to rest!

Unlike most mountain roads that undulate and give you opportunities to recover between efforts, Mt. Washington is maniacally consistent from bottom to top. This means you have to find creative ways to prevent redlining or popping. I, rather surprisingly, found myself slowing down slightly and recovering while pedaling out of the saddle on the 18% sections.

The course itself is amazing, and the fans made it feel like a stage race at the ‘Tour. There are groups of them on the switchbacks cheering and many who drove up before the race wrote messages on the road in chalk.

You are greeted at the top with a blanket, a medal and a bottle of water. Once you catch your breath you can wander around the top and enjoy the view and the clouds blowing by between your feet (literally).

Just to make it interesting the finishing stretch is on a 22% grade.

This race isn’t *long* but it is difficult on an epic scale and like a marathon or triathlon it is a race you enter to finish, not to win. Though I missed the cutoff time for the “top notch” category by 3 minutes, largely due to the gearing misjudgment, I have no regrets and will return.

For more information on the Mt. Washington Auto Road Hill Climb visit the official site: mtwashingtonbicyclehillclimb.org

northeastcycling.com has great analysis of all of the great climbs in the area including a comparison of Mt. Washington vs. the other great climbs around the world.

For many, the oft brightly colored cycling jersey seems to be all about performance—its skin-tight lycra serving two main purposes: aerodynamics and sweat wicking.

These aspects are certainly true. I remember donning my first proper cycling jersey on an 88 degree day in the city and was astounded at how dry and cool I felt as I was picking up speed on the bike path home. It seemed like Giordiana has actually woven magic into that shirt.

So why ruin all that performance with pockets? If you’re serious about cycling then you are also serious about mileage and where you can go with your bike. If you are traveling away from home you are going to need some supplies. Here is a visual packing list of what you will need for most trips (in no particular order):

Packing list for cycling

1) Food

Bonk has a way of sneaking up on you; you’ll be rolling along and feeling great when all of a sudden you’ll notice that you’re breathing a little harder on the hills, or maybe your legs just aren’t pushing with the sprightliness of the beginning of the ride then *wham*, you are having a difficult time even crawling along at half speed. Make sure to have some snacks and if you’re on a long ride make sure to eat them. How often will vary on your level of fitness but generally you should be snacking on something at least once an hour.

2) Hydration

For rides on hot days or for longer than an hour or two you should bring two bottles with you. The pros like to do electrolytes (eg: cytomax, gatoraide) in one bottle and water in the other (which you can drink, or dump on your head if things really heat up)

3) Bike Pump

Learn from my mistakes: get a good bike pump. It doesn’t have to be a full frame-length pump, but it shouldn’t be the smallest/lightest thing you can find either. I had an ultralight that fit great in my pocket, but when it came time to actually use it it was difficult to get up beyond 80psi and it took forever. Even if you have “puncture resistant” tires it pays to have a good bike pump

4) Presta-> Schrader converter

This little item can come in handy when you’re in the middle of nowhere and have a pump fail or break. Pretty much all gas stations have air pumps, but none have presta valves. This converter costs nothing, takes up no space and can be a life-saver when straits get dire.

5) Tubes

Though a bit of a pain, bring two tubes. Why? Because your rear tire follows your front tire and if you hit the right kind of sharp object when you are rolling along at 25mph…well, you get the picture.

6) Tire Lever

Some tires pry off by hand, but don’t wait until you have a flat to find out that yours are too tight. Tire levers are a must-have.

7) Multi-tool

Random things happen on the road that you can’t anticipate; your saddle could start slipping down, a tree branch could get jammed in your derailleur, a brake hood could slip. Your multi tool will allow you to Macgyver your way back out of most mechanical problems.

Zip-lock bags

Of all the expensive equipment a cyclist arms him/herself with, there is one is often overlooked: the humble ziplock bag. Pack anything in these that you don’t want to get wet with sweat or rain (money, cell phone), things that you don’t want to get rubbed around too much (eg: spare tubes) or use them to cluster and organize your things in. When it comes to packing for your ride zip-lock bags are your friends.

9, 10) ID/RoadID, Health Insurance Card

Should anything unforeseen happen to you, it will be important for people to be able to identify you and know who to contact for help. On the flip side, you will also need your ID to get into bars.

11-12) Cash, Credit Card

On the road, cash is king. You should bring a 20 to get snacks, lunch, drinks while adventuring. A credit card is good for larger bills like bike parts or a bus ride home.

13) Cell Phone

Great for taking group pictures and texting your significant other to say that you are running late.

Happy Trails!

(1) Fit, fit, fit:

(2) Know your stretches.

(3) Rollers and other torture devices:

(4) Cross training, while not as fun as cycling, helps.

(5) “Eat before you’re hungry and drink before you’re thirsty”.

Following up on a decisive victory May 14, Randhy Rodriguez continues his streak in the 4th race of the Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Race Series in Brooklyn.

Congratulations Randhy!

So you read our post on bike commuting and have decided that you’re digging it–but your route takes you down busy streets or downright clogged inner-city arteries. Here are a few tips on how to survive.

Photo by Flickr user Global Jet.

1. Wear a helmet and gloves

It would seem like this goes without saying, but in biking around town apparently it does not.  WEAR A HELMET AND GLOVES!. There was a bike shop I used to frequent in Minneapolis that kept a collection of broken helmets from customers. While it may have had the affect of scaring some away from the sport, it was very effective in selling safety. Every one of the helmets on the wall represented a crash that the cyclist was able to walk away from.

The gloves note is just a gift from me to you. You don’t have to wear them but you’ll thank me when you save yourself the weeks of annoyance when you scrape up your palms on a pavement landing and have to deal with the itching at work.

2. It’s ok to stop for traffic signals

Did we forget where we’re going? We’re going to work. What’s the big rush??? Stopping for red lights (and even staying put for a few minutes) will allow you to keep your stress level down (calculating how to dart out in front of cars and busses takes a lot of mental energy) and allow to arrive relaxed and invigorated. You might even show up for work at the same time due to the timing of lights further down the street. 

3. It’s ok to go a little out of your way for safety

When winter hits and the sun starts to go down early I find myself riding home in the dark. My particular route would take me straight through the heart of midtown which is a snarled tangle of cars, busses, pedicabs, pedestrians, vending carts, horses, and more. The speed is stop-and-go at best, and in the darkness it is sometimes tough to judge movement and distances, even if you are an xmas tree of lights. After putting by brake lever through a guy’s taillight I decided to find an alternative route for the dark months.

I decided to head 6 long crosstown blocks out of my way to the west side highway which is a bike trail that goes up the side of Manhattan. Though it added two miles to my route home, there were no stoplights and no traffic. It was well worth the detour.

Elsewhere in the city, where the bike lanes were apparently not as well planned, there is a stretch in Brooklyn where a west facing bike path stops a block shy of a connection to an northbound path. You have two choices: bolt straight ahead the wrong way down a one-way street to make the connection or go a block to the left, then down the correctly-facing one way street, then back up the connecting road.

I tried both on different days. Guess what the time differential was. 15 seconds. You read that right: 15 seconds. That is the power of “going with the flow” (of traffic).

4. Both bikes AND traffic in general don’t like right angles

If you find yourself coming up on a double-parked car the wrong thing to do is to is stop and try to make a 90 degree turn into traffic.

Even though it is scary at first you’ll want to merge out at least onto the painted lane marker or, if traffic allows, into the next lane of traffic to pass the parked car. This will vary depending on the drivers of your city. Make sure to maintain your speed and merge gradually so drivers can slow down or change lanes themselves.

As you become more comfortable moving away from the curb of safety you will also become better at predicting what cars will do. You don’t have to wait for a car to stop to prepare to go around it in a graceful lane-changing arc. If you see a cab pulling over and slowing down begin your merge! The smoother you can move in and out of traffic while maintaining your speed the better everyone moves.

5. Use Hand Signals

Even though most drivers are not cyclists, many hand signals are universal. The two you’ll use most while commuting are:

• pointing at the lane you are about to merge into (especially if it’s occupied with cars)
• the bird

Now that you’ve tweaked your route and have gotten yourself into the mix, be careful not to let that power go to your head! Stay heads-up and alert and enjoy being “plugged in” to your city. I will leave you with a video example of how NOT to ride with these newfound skills: