Gonna Ride All Day

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We made it Austin sort of late last night.  Pretty much just in time to go to bed.  Today it is supposed to be the stellar day for the next week.  It is supposed to be nearly 65 today and then half that and rain/snow on the weekend.  So Bill and I are going to go and ride all day.  I’m not sure what Vincent is doing.  He is racing the single speed race tomorrow afternoon.

Speaking of the single speed race, here is what Vincent is planning on doing tomorrow.  Think it will work?  He only brought one bike, a Di2 regular cross bike.  So he is planning on just removing his battery, thus disabling his shifting, making it a single speed.  Personally, if I were an official, I’d let him race, but I’m not an official, so I’m thinking that he is going to be watching.  It is just the same as not have a cable and blocking off your gears, but for some reason it seems different.  I guess, if he was a real devious guy, he could carry a battery in his pocket and then put it back on during the race, but you’d think someone would see that.  It is the Nationals Championships though, so I’m sticking with my original guess.

Bill and I only got to bring one bike each, since Vincent’s new Sprinter was stuffed full of bikes from Denver.  We both brought our cross bikes with cross tires.  That isn’t going to stop me from riding west out into the hill country.  I figure it is just that much extra resistance.  I have only ridden 7 miles so far this year, so I plan to increase my mileage at least 10-fold.

I’m hearing from the other side of the room right now that Vincent is planning on riding all day too.  He says that he came down here to race as an excuse to come somewhere warm to ride.  That isn’t how I have ever thought at Cyclcross Nationals, but it will be nice having him on the ride.

Okay,  CNBC shows that oil prices are dropping like crazy again today.  I’m thinking that the prices are going to drop into the 30’s before it goes back up to the 70’s.  It seems to me that the US is beating up Russia right now through economic means, thus oil  Whatever the reason, it is great for getting around to bike races this year.

 

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33 thoughts on “Gonna Ride All Day

  1. jim sully

    Sung loosely to the tune by the Beatles- Back in the USSR

    Made it into Austin late last night,
    Barely got my feet in the hay ,

    My mind was spinnin, eyes wide open
    Dreamin bout that sunny next day,

    Bill n I are ridin on out steel steeds all day,
    Vincent is wearin a dress and won’t play,
    In our ride outa Austin through the Texas sunshine,
    Say’s he’s goin gearless the next day.

    Chorus:
    Back in that Austin, Back in that Austin, Back in that Austin USA!

     
  2. channel_zero

    Oil prices move on Saudia Arabia’s output.

    The last I heard, the Saudi’s are not happy about North America’s production and so is killing any incentive to produce in North America by keeping supply up. Maybe there is more geopolitics at play with the Saudi’s neighbors and Russia.

    I don’t follow oil politics too closely though.

     
  3. The Cyclist

    Exactly. It’s not americans killing Russia, it’s arabs killing US shale oil production. It could also be that the arabs are getting scared of the progressing environmentalists and fear soon to come global restrictions on fossil fuels and thus are tryin to sell as much oil as possible b4 too late. There’s also rumours that the Japanese has developed new batteries that will last 10 times longer than the ones we have today and will charge faster than filling up 10 gallons.

     
  4. Max Hunter

    I saw a guy race single speed with zip ties on his SRAM shifters to prevent shifting (pulling the back to the bars). The race director inspected it and said “ok” with a very reluctant tone. I’ve not read the rules, but I’d be interested in what some race officials might say about these temporary singles speed conversions schemes.

     
  5. Steve Tilford Post author

    Och-Hardly. The idea is you’re supposed to be racing on one gear, thus singlespeed. His idea would assure one gear. How about having a bunch of spare bikes, in the pit, with different gearing. And you switch bikes, thus gears, for different sections of the course. That would break the spirit of the rule. But it is legal. Riding one bike you can’t shift, in only one gear, seems to define racing a singlespeed to me.

     
  6. Vincent

    Anyone have a single-speed they want to loan me for the race Wednesday at 4:00pm? a 54-56cm frame would be best.
    720-301-3003

     
  7. Brian

    The Saudis are putting the hurt on the Iranians. The US doesn’t care because it is hurting the Russians. Cuba is looking for US dollars because Venezuela is broke. Venezuela is looking to China for help (Will China ask for a naval base in return?)

    Global ban on fossil fuels will never happen.

    Adjusted for inflation the price of gas is lower than it has been since I started driving in the 60’s. The known oil reserves are also higher now than the 70’s. Of course technology or more accurately increased human knowledge is most responsible for this.

     
  8. Bee

    According to USAC’s 2014 rulebook:
    Chapter 1I – Bicycles, letter i, “A Single Speed is any type of bicycle possessing only one rear cog and only one front chainring and with no means of altering the gear ratio in any way during the race.”

    Seems pretty straight forward, one cog front and back and no spare wheels w/ alternate cogs in the pits.

     
  9. jeff

    Seems like you’d only need a handful of freehub sized spacers and wouldn’t even need to break the chain, as long as Di2 derailleurs can be locked into place like mechanicals, with the limit screws. the derailleur spring is your tensioner. Just remove one chainring and all but one rear cog.

     
  10. DStudley

    If USAC wants single speed to be a legitimate category they need to make the category for actual single speed bikes, versus allowing to it to be a 45 minute warm up/course recon for racers. If they can push the separation of Masters/Elites then this just another matter of creating a distinction to legitimize the SS category. I have never been a fan of the whole zip tie single speed thing for nationals, and thus don’t much like the concept of pulling the battery approach either, but I suppose if they allow one method they should allow both. I can see the aspect of letting people run the zip ties for local races, but this is a national championship.
    As for having a pit bike(s) with a different gearing I just don’t see it as a likely scenario. Yes, on some courses it would work to change every half lap to have a big gear for the fast half of a lap and easier for the other half if the course was designed/allow as such. In most cases though the cost of bike changes would cancel out the gearing changes. The only other favorable reason would be to have a big gear for the start and first lap/half lap sprint before swapping to a sustainable gearing

     
  11. Pepsi Frank

    Vincent, get a Surly spacer kit, remove the derailleurs and the front ring you won’t be using and shorten your chain. Easy.

     
  12. Barman

    Along with removing the battery you also need to shorten the chain a bunch and back pedal as little as possible! Jut a heads up if you get in! Good luck!

     
  13. Jim Ochowicz

    In my universe there wouldn’t be pit bikes, either. ISDE rules should apply to dirt racin’. Run what you brung

    You crossers bring so much crap for a 45 minute race that its almost laughable. Surprised the hipsters don’t have to hire stevedores

     
  14. euro

    Steve-do any of your friends (other than Trudi) have real jobs? You all seem to float around the country year round from one fun spot to another and never have to work. What’s up with that??

     
  15. Mike Rodose

    Steve

    You are a purist. A Traditionalist. Please don’t associate with Vincent’s bastardization of rules, sport and specialization. He’s not a single-speeder. He just wants to ride the single-speed race. He shouldn’t be allowed to start. If he does, he will be DQed if he finds any result past a real single-speeder that cares about the sport. And the officials that allowed him in should be terminated.

    Vincent needs to get a real single-speed. As do others. Stop trying to pretend it’s cool to do this type of shit. What’s hext..asking pwrmission to kind of, sort of take substances that aren’t rule-compliant. Slippery place. You are jokers if you treat the sport this way. And look like asses. Gypsies, vagabonds, traveling circus-folk.

    Seriously. Stop the nonsense and play by USA Cycling rules. And get real, buy bikes, get off the low-budget bullshit.

    This is Nationals. Have some fucking respect. Especially you, Tilford.

     
  16. Mike Rodose

    Douchebags unite.

    Respect Nationals, you jackasses.

    You guys are advocating cheating…whether you realize it or not. Against the rules. You will be DQ’d if one person protests. Avoid the chief ref.? Really? Avoid the USADA chaperone and officials. Same mindset.

    Single speed is pure and simple. It exists as a category of racing because of this. Bringing your shithead geared bikes with duct-tape, avoiding refs, screwing derailleurs, etc. is sacrilegious.

    Posers. Get a single-speed and race. Or don’t take the start line and get in the way of real single-speeders.

     
  17. Michael

    A few years ago someone got stopped for the following set up: had a cassette of all the same cog, 10 of them. Broke the rule of more than one cog even though they were all the same. Loved the idea of it, that someone would take that much time to do it. Be pure Pony Boy and ride the right gear, it is nats, not some local race.

     
  18. Dave

    You people sound like a bunch of kids looking for ways to circumvent the rule. The INTENT of the rule is clear.

     
  19. me

    If you think King Moocher won’t turn up an overnighted world class SS for a member of his harem by tomorrow, you don’t read about this fantasy life enough.

     
  20. Vincent

    Ok guys, I have talked to the ref and have it all worked out. I have spacers that look like cogs. Use defines what they are not what they look like.

     
  21. Jeff D.

    I can understand some of the concerns from folks that ride single speed seriously, but I don’t understand the the mean / rude comments by some, cant folks get their thoughts across without meanness?

     
  22. davidh

    A small number of commentators seem to visit the site solely to jump on Steve and his associates for any deviation from what they deem to be appropriate. It’s strange.

     
  23. S

    You guys all sound like idiots whining about pure singlespeed. It sounds like the opposite of the nature of the sport. If somebody blocks off their gears and can only use one then they are on a singlespeed bike. So what if they have parts that make their bike heavier and more inefficient than yours. It still functions the exact same as your and will not help them win the race. Get over yourself and go race your bike.

     
  24. Jason

    The zip-tie method is only allowed at local races. At Nationals, you must race with one cog in back and one chainring.

     
  25. The Cyclist

    It’s more efficient to ride a real SS than a jigrigged one so what’s the problem here really? Apart from SS riders being posers… 😉

     

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