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Andrejs from Ithaca, NY compares his yellow Pocket Rocket Pro with Alan and Theresa Scholz' titanium Tandem Traveler under a dramatic Arizona sky. I am not supposed to tell you that the tandem packed into a single suitcase. Then again, I wonder who packed it ... ? Photo by Lynette Chiang.
Emailable link to this article: http://www.bikefriday.com/desertcamp05
Camp Message Board - includes links to the GPS downloads of Speedy Gonzales Ron Neher. PLEASE POST YOUR CAMP FEEDBACK HERE, so we can make next year's camp even better.
PHOTO GALLERIES:
* Elmer Bricca, Ben Blum and Lynette Chiang gallery
* Andrejs Ozolins (Itaca, NY) superb photo gallery
* Ron Neher (Austin,TX) gallery
* Franklin Furlong (Seattle, WA) gallery
* Wayne Favre (Seattle, WA) gallery
* Leo Anderson (Austin, TX) gallery
QUICKTIME MOVIE CLIPS:
* John Rohland and Elmer Bricca demonstrate the BF Bunny Hop (1.5 Mb) - recommended only as an EMERGENCY technique for avoiding sudden and life-threatening obstacles - excessive use on any bicycle other than mountain bikes will shorten frame life.
* 79-year-young Patricia Daniels (2.2 Mb) doing the 82-miler final day on her New World Tourist
* 9-year-old Catrina Holmes, Super Stoker (1.6 Mb) - pulling everyone else up the hill!
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ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz ..... that's the audible roar of 50+ Bike Friday riders and crew in deep and fitful sleep dreaming about burning rubber, desert, cactus, sweeping horizons ... upgrading their Pocket Rocket to a Pro after being passed by a fellow Friday owner twenty years their senior ...
When the alarm jangled at 6:00 a.m. each day, 50+ pairs of spinning feet touched the floor, raced down to the room for expert stretching instruction by Pat Bohaty, camp masseuse, dived into the restaurant to gobble down Quaker Oats, eggs, Cheerios and canned fruit all mixed in the same bowl and from there, leapt into the saddle for the 8 a.m. daily start.
For that stats freaks, we had around 20 Pocket Rockets and Pros, half as many Air Fridays, and the rest, a mixture of Crusoes, AirGlides, New World Tourists, tandems and some big-wheel contenders.
Day 1 consisted of a rude 80-mile hammer from Tucson to base camp Sierra Vista, a highway town a stone's skip from the Mexican border. This is real ghost town country, with endless deserty vistas and M*A*S*H-like choppers juddering back and forth along the USA/Mex border like giant cicadas.
A goodly bunch of riders, including me, sagged the first 25 miles out of Tucson thus making the 80-mile opener a little less ominous. This put us right into the desert where I thrilled at rubbing ankles (but hopefully not tire treads) with the ubiquitous ground-dwelling cacti - giant clumps of Micky Mouse ears gone mutant.
It was a long first day - even with the sag head start. On arrival in Sierra Vista many staggered straight from their saddles to the hot tub, cold pool, or bed. Lon had generously supplied each rider with a grab bag of goodies including signature camp jersey, embroidered PACTOUR Colombia travel shirt (SPF 30), patch kit, sample pack of Hammer Nutrition Endurolyte capsules, choice of a book from the annals of cycling literature by authors like Fred Matheny, Andy Pruitt and Lance's nutritionist Chris Carmichael AND ... super generously, a copy of my book The Handsomest Man in Cuba (assuming anyone could keep their eyes open after a 60 mile hammer each day). The grab bag also included a free booklet from Hammer Nutrition which scared the hell out of me as I read about hyponatremia, or death by drinking too much water, which claimed the lives of three young runners in recent marathons. Apparently dehydration can lead to IV treatment at worst, whereas H-2-0-ism can be fatal. Solution? Hammer electrolyte products of course!
Terry de Campo, who has referred countless BF folks in the Denver area, was one of the fast guys.
Each day the group seemed to split into two factions - the Faster Fold (FF) and the Rest. The FF consisted of coach Fred Matheny of RoadBikeRider.com, practising what he preaches at 30+ mp/h; cycling authority Jim Langley, who showed us how to mount and dismount a tire with his bare hands (what a man); speed demon Ron Neher, who's been posting his daily GPS data on the Camp Message Board, Dr Terry de Campo who is a total BF nut and a bunch of other guys who dare to enter the inner sanctum. I have made numerous attempts to hang onto the back of this group but have succeeded in making like a limpet for half an hour at most (when they deigned to hold back to 21 mph).
The rides hovered around 60 miles in length with rest stops every 16-20 miles. For many riders it is not speed that is the real benefit of this camp, but the act of doing these distances day after day - and the resultant increase in endurance. This is no big deal for Jim Langley, however, who has ridden his bike every single day without fail for 10 years and shows no sign of breaking his record ...
The female riders (almost twenty this year, a real jump from the three last year) did great, tackling options like Mule Pass with determination and impressive times. Most impressive of all was 79-year-young Patricia Daniels, affectionately called 'The Energiser Bunny' by the handful of more junior BF owners she has referred. Patricia rode the steep Mule Pass and the entire 82-mile return trip on the last day on her New World Tourist.
"I want a nice light bike like YOU have," she said, referring to my Pocket Rocket Pro Petite. If you see one movie this year it should be my film clip of this awesome cyclist.
A close second would have to be 71-year-young Jim Reed, just back from a 30-day trip to Thailand on his Pocket Rocket. What will you do on a Friday when you're 64? 74? 84?
Then there was 9-year-old Catrina Holmes stokering her dad Tom on a Tandem Traveler XL. She's a veteren of 8000 foot climbs, numerous centuries, and actually dragged a flagging yours truly at 15 mp/h up a hill. Watch the video clip of Catrina in action!
EACH AFTERNOON and evening we were treated to seminars by our resident coaches, with dinner at Appleby's in between. Fortunately, Bobbi Kamil and a couple of others had a vehicle to give us a respite form the gastronomic generics. AZ is the land of the car ... loooonnnng blocks and even longer stripmalls.
Fred Matheny's tip of the week:. Ride medium and you'll only ever ride medium. On fast days go fast. On slow days go slow - as in BMX-bikes-passing-you slow. If you do not follow this regime of hammering and recovery, you will never go fast enough to push yourself to the next level on the fast days, and you will never go slow enough to really recover on the slow days. You'll always gravitate toward a medium ride and thus will never be anything but. OK, heed this, Bike Friday factory noon-riders, who constantly say things like 'today I'm taking it easy' but do anything but!
Highlight of day 2 was a stop at the ramshackle Palominas Diner, where a handlebar-moustached local told us that former President Carter likes the pies there and even has them sent to DC.
"I'm enjoying the non-plastic nature of this place," said visiting Aussie NWT owner Colin Freestone, gazing at the authentic (as opposed to Martha Stewarted) wild west decor. As we shoved homemade rhubarb pie in our faces we saw many, many people ride right on past, completely missing out on this unique corner of the world where Wal*Mart is yet to arrive with its palettes of $11 blow up mattresses. They also missed out on seeing the look-but-don't-touch Iraqi playing cards brought back by a local. (See Photo Gallery).
Cast of champs: Erika Daniel, husband Terry de Campo, Alan Scholz, Coach Jim Langley, Fred Matheny of RoadBikeRider.com, and 'Love Me, Love my GPS' Ron Neher.
Day 3 was a ride to the evocatively named town of Tombstone. On the way I got a classic cartoon flat - a drawing pin with a nice round head, smack in the middle of the tire. I ask you, what is the probability of a tack finding its way into your tire in 60 km of highway and a 3 foot shoulder? Fortunately, I was able to test out Jim Langley's leverless tire replacement technique and succeed .. with a little help from my friends.
Tombstone was a highlight for many - a recreation of an old cowboy town, complete with 'gunfights' and horse drawn carriages with a little bit of road rage (I happened to get in the way of their pounding hooves with my camera). Here, locals dress up and hang out on the porches just like in Clint Eastwood movies. Not a bad place to live if you have a trust fund and a penchant for donning vintage threads and leaning against a hitching post ... Bobbi Kamil and I did some target practice with our credit cards, buying a couple of western belts with ornate silverwork and buckles. Ah, I feel like an Aussie-Chino Annie Oakley already ...
Andrejs Ozolins, 64, streaks to the front for a monumental pull ...
Jim Langley's tip of the week: Jim Langley's tip of the week: Riding some roads and most trails, you'll encounter obstacles that can easily knock your hands off the handlebars if you're not holding the bars correctly. Remember to always have at least one thumb beneath the bars. That way, when you hit one of these nasty bumps, your hand(s) may slip. But, it won't slip off the bars. And that can be the difference between hanging on and planting your face in the dirt (ouch!).
Jim gave us a spectacular online tour of his evocative cycling website, resplendent with bicycle tips, trivia, paraphenalia like headbadges and romantic olde bicycle ads and of course a glowing treatise on his Pocket Rocket. "It changed my life," he said, making Alan Scholz blush. "I knew as soon as I saw it I could always have a bicycle with me wherever I went." His tale of taking his Penny Farthing to Scotland to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of bicycle inventor Kirkpatrick McMillan by riding it in a century (15 hours) had people swooning with the romance of it all. Check out his website to see him in a pith helmet, breeches and what should have been gauntlets, apparently.
"The Euros tend to raid Goodwill for their kit, while the Americans go all out with period costumes a la Hollywood wardrobe department," said Jim.
He said some hi-brow spoilers turned up to publicly discredit M. McMillan, and one participant from the Netherlands packed up his vintage velocipede in disgust and went home ...
Andrejs from Ithaca, NY, offered this toilet tip: if stopped to take a pee on the side of the road put your bike on the opposite side from where you're peeing. Passing cars will focus on the bike rather than vainly searching the bushes for your squatting figure. Assuming you care that you will ever see them again. I posted Andrej's tip on the YAK! and Camp Message Board and a flurry of discussion ensued about the dangers of leaving your bike - rather than your butt - exposed to the mid-morning bedroom community commute. A change from brake shoe discussions to be sure, to be sure! See his stunning photo gallery in the link above.
3x Bike Friday owner Bill Bliss gave us a treatise on how to place your wheel at a traffic light so it trips the sensors. It all depends on where you live, and Bill deserves an honorary PhD for this exhaustive diagrammatic analysis of this area of road engineering. I'll try and cajole Bill into sharing his findings with you here - watch this space.
I presented my 40 minute Peru DVD, shot entirely with a 3.2 Mpix Sony Digital Elph camera in movie mode, to a enthralled audience - I imagine it's very exciting to watch someone else gasping for air at 16,000 feet from the comfort of considerably less feet ... Lon is accepting enrolments for the 2006 Peru trips now. See the PACTOUR website.
Lon Haldeman, RAAM Legend, says his Air Friday saves him a lot of hassle when leading Pactour's France and Peru tours. Photo by Elmer Bricca.
History of RAAM. Lon presented his professionally produced OLN "History of RAAM" DVD which had everyone on the edges of their seats hearing about how you become an expert vomiter in the quest to stay on the bike ... this race is shaping up to be the Tour de France of the USA. Totally inspiring was the assertion that many riders over 40 do well in the event. Lon is actually a 1/3 owner of the event. He claims a <20 lb Bike Friday would not only qualify on technical grounds to enter the race, it stands as good a chance of winning as any comparable bike. Anyone game?
Lon on cleat position. I must thank Lon for drilling my shoes 'Haldeman style'. Let me explain: Alan Scholz gave me a pair of vintage Specialized road shoes his daughter Sarah spurned (for stilettos, no doubt). So vintage, that a regular SPD cleat did not fit the holes, and the screaming 80's style turquoise color clashes nauseously with my Assos jersey. Now, Lon told me on the Peru trip that the optimal place for a cleat for long distance touring is actually way back behind the ball of the feet, almost to the instep.
"Doesn't give you hotspots or crush your bones - you can ride a lot longer," he says.
Apparently this cleat position loses a tiny bit of efficiency, says expert Andy Pruitt, but if you can get across the country in 8 days feeling like your feet have merely taken a stroll round the block, who's complaining? Apparently Shimano aren't interested in Lon's assertions - otherwise they'd supply a wider range of positions for the cleat. Perhaps they surmise that most people will be at the end of their ride by the time their feet start complaining ...
Cycling satirist and celebrated author Maynard Hershon popped up from Tucson to read us some of his delightful pieces on bike culture including this classic piece. As I told the group I love the line about how single men should refrain from following a tandem with a woman stoker.
She's with the guy on the front. Though she may end up hating him, she'd not going to date you. You are not the answer to any of the questions she is asking.
Go google for his books "Tales from the Bike Shop" and "Half-Wheel Hell" now for some deep and satisfying chuckles.
Thank you to all 50+ folks who signed up for this major workout in the wilds of AZ. To Lon and Susan for setting aside a special camp just for our little wheels. To Alan at Bike Friday for maintaining the vision of the BF community. The 'Bicycles that Fly' moniker on the Bike Friday headbadge is Alan's inspired quote. To Elmer Bricca for his magical Macintosh slideshow of the week's activities (amazing how many folks brought their LAPTOPS to camp - this is America). To Ben Blum and Ron Neher for their shots. To Mike and Susan Burdick, Bike Friday evangelists in Tucson, for inviting us to a wonderful meal at their house under a shade of a giant saguero ...
Feel free to post comments about any of the above on the Camp Message Board - we'll be reading it!
Desert Camp DVD: I hammered out a 40 minute video of the week's hammering with that same little digital camera. Anyone who wants a copy of the DVD can get it from me at Bike Friday, $10 to cover time and materials and more importantly, wear & tear on my poor little laptop burner (takes about an hour to burn each one). Email me at Bike Friday, lynettec at bikefriday dot com
Little wheels made you fly!
"Normally we're very fast downhill, but really slow uphill. here we seem to be passing everyone!" says 9 year young Catrina Holmes, veteren of centuries and 8000 foot hill climbs, stokering for dad Tom.
Your reporter on her Pro Petite (admittedly still with the fit stem). Gals, you need one of these! Photo: Andrejs Ozolins
MORE DESERT CAMP!
Emailable link to this article: http://www.bikefriday.com/desertcamp05