This previous weekend Tadej Pogačar turned the primary rider to with the Giro d’Italia/Tour de France double since Marco Pantani did it in 1998:
This can be a monumental sporting accomplishment, although it’s additionally a bit awkward since Pantani was doped to the very ideas of his decidedly non-aerodynamic ears. This was additionally a bit awkward for a similar purpose:
Hey, I’m not accusing him of something. Coaching is extra refined, diet is extra refined–and sure, the gear is extra refined. Plus, riders are lastly harnessing the ability of carbon monoxide! And clearly he’s essentially the most gifted racing bike owner we’ve seen in an extended, very long time. Additionally, I rode behind him for about 14 seconds, and he appeared like a really good individual:
That was my second time using with a Tour de France winner, by the best way:
And sure, Lance Armstrong was nonetheless a Tour de France winner in 2009. The UCI can take his wins, however they’ll’t take mine.
Because it occurs, on the day Pogačar made his personal Tour win official, I used to be carrying one of many jersey they gave us for that journey:
This was a coincidence, and I principally selected it as a result of it was laundry day and that’s what was accessible. In any other case I don’t actually put on it as a result of it’s too small; I had requested a big, however I ought to have realized that will imply Euro race minimize “giant,” which might be too small even for Tadej Pogačar, not the massive you get when your Cat 3 crew orders kits from Verge. I do like how the pink on the shoulder enhances the Faggin although:
And sure, the Spinergys are nonetheless intact:
However the suspense is killing me.
Anyway, whereas that huge Swiss journey I did in a too-small jersey and on a 1987 Kestrel 4000 with a six-speed friction drivetrain and a low gear of 42/21 (sure, I’m bragging) was akin to a week-long stage race by way of mileage and elevation, it was technically a charity journey–and in addition coincidentally on this specific event I bought caught up in a charity journey:
The marshals even thought I used to be a part of the journey, regardless of my lack of each a helmet and a handlebar-mounted rear-view mirror, which ought to have been useless giveaways that I used to be merely an space dirtbag with a whole disregard for private security.
However, for a couple of thrilling miles I used to be a part of the motion, and oh how I want I had been using George Plimpton’s Y-Foil, a.ok.a. the Charity Trip Destroyer…
…because it shall hereafter be recognized:
However at the very least I used to be on Spinergys, which is the subsequent smartest thing, and I used to be finally capable of launch a profitable assault on the subsequent relaxation space:
Are the Spinergys actually sooner than common non-explosive wheels? I don’t know. Nonetheless, I do know that quickly after that I hit a blistering velocity of 13mph on a average incline:
That’s two entire miles per hour sooner than I went on this identical stretch of highway on the Cervino with fancy tubular tires, so that you do the maths:
I’m shattering private bests like they’re Spinergys:
However sure, I used to be absolutely and unapologetically in Highway Weenie mode over the weekend, and I additionally spent a while on the LeMond:
After the newest crank problem Paul determined to place an finish to my whining as soon as and for all by sending me one thing completely dependable:
He even despatched an Ultegra backside bracket with it quite than the a lot fussier Dura-Ace unit to make it fully idiot-proof.
Whereas I used to be tinkering with the bike, I additionally flipped the stem:
This was how the stem was oriented after I first acquired the bike, however being delusional and useless I angled it down instantly. Nicely, because it seems, not solely do I just like the bars greater (shock!), nevertheless it’s additionally made the difficult form of the crabon bars way more comfy:
See these flat tops? What’s barely vexing in regards to the bars is that they’re angled, and in the event you orient the bars in order that the levers and the drops are in the suitable place then the angle of the tops feels kinda off. However now, with the bars greater, the angle of the tops feels rather more pure. I think the rationale for that is that whereas the bars look all racy they’re actually for delusional dads nonetheless clinging tenuously to their Cat 3 glory days, and so FSA most likely designed them to be extra comfy the upper they’re.
The LeMond might now be the last word dad bike.
