Belgian Training: Bicycle Kicks

OK, I have to take back what I said in a couple of earlier posts.

In them, I noted an interesting paradox:  The countries that have dominated the worlds of cycling and football (what Americans call soccer) are roughly the same.  Yet, even within those countries, the ball and the wheel almost never cross paths, so to speak.  Almost no one from one sport can be found in the other.


But it seems that in Brazil, the Belgian team that will face off against the Americans tomorrow has made cycling part of their training regimen:

Axel Witsel and Laurent Ciman riding in Sao Paolo

USA Today reporter Nick Schwartz describes their, and their teammates', rides as "casual".  It's hard to imagine a bunch of world-class athletes on their sport's greatest stage being "casual" about anything!





I mean, look at Axel Witsel in this shot.  He's ready to take on the world!


Here, Dries Mertens gives new meaning to the term "bicycle kick".  He seems to be giving a clinic to his teammate and Red Devils' star Eden Hazard:





Somehow it makes sense that these players would come from the same country that gave us Eddy Mercx.

Cycling Under The Rainbow

Today the Pride March makes its way down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park. From there, marchers will turn on to Christopher Street and pass the Stonewall Inn.  On this date forty-five years ago, patrons fought police officers who tried to raid the bar.  This clash, first labelled as the Stonewall Riot and later the Stonewall Rebellion, is usually cited as the beginning of the modern LGBT equality movement.

As always, there will be some bicycles in the procession.  Of course, nobody will ride very fast, and some of the bikes as well as cyclists will no doubt serve mainly as props for signs or floats.

I admire the spirit of these marchers in Vietnam, who are pushing for marriage equality in one of Asia's most repressive regimes:

We all know that such struggles are important.  But we can't forget that sometimes the battle is won and lost with, and on, accessories:

When I'm Feeling Proud Of Myself...

One of these days, I'm going to post some photos from the bike tours I've taken and write some entertaining but factual(!) stories to go with them.  I have to go through boxes full of images, find the ones that might be meaningful or at least interesting to you or any other reader, and have them scanned.

But for now I'll tell you that when I was pedaling alone in a foreign country (or simply away from home), carrying what I needed , I had moments of pure exhiliaration, when I felt proud of what I was doing yet humbled by the immensity of the world that surrounded me.  

There were also moments, however, when I almost felt silly, like the time I rode up the Col du Portillon in the Pyrenees.  I ascended on the French side and, nearing the highest part--the border between France and Spain--I was thinking that Hannibal had nothing on me. But I saw two creatures who did:  a pair of brown mountain goats, watching me from the side of the road.  I could almost swear that I heard them chuckling to themselves.  "You think you're such a great mountain climber.  We do this every day!"

And whenever I feel confident in myself for carrying everything I need on my bicycle, I should remember that there are people all over the world who haul far more, every day:

I must say, though, that the man makes almost as much of a fashion statement as the woman does!

I Went On A Perfect Bike Ride And All I Brought Back Was This Picture

A day off from work.  Barely a cloud in the sky.  Warm, but not overly so.

Sounds like a great time to ride, right?

And ride I did.  On Arielle.  The ride was even breezier than the day.  In fact, at times, it seemed just as easy when I was riding into the breeze as when it blew at  my back.



I did a metric century (105 km, or 65 miles, to be exact) and was no worse for it.  In fact, I felt even more invigorated at the end of it.  The only reason I didn't ride longer, or take another ride, is that I have a couple of things to take care of tonight to prepare for my participation in Pride Weekend events.

So where's the rub, you ask?   Surely you don't read this blog for conflict-free stories (Is that an oxymoron?) and happy endings, now, do you?



All right, there was one slight problem.  Along Rockaway or Coney Island Beach, I wanted to take some photos of Arielle with the Ruth Works bags and new handlebar tape.  When I stopped at a spot along the reconstructed Rockaway boardwalk where I thought the light was particularly nice, I turned on the camera.  Actually, it didn't turn on:  The battery was dead!



I think I accidentally turned it on the last time I put it away.  I have another battery that I keep in the charger and when I switch batteries, I put the depleted one in the charger.  Unfortunately, the charged battery and charger were in my apartment!

So I took only this photo with my cell phone.  It's not bad, given the phone and my skills. But I couldn't capture the kind of detail I'd hoped to have in new photos I would have used to update the blog.  Oh well.

Which Mercian Should He Ride Today?

It wouldn't surprise you too much to know that one of the blogs on my reading list is Mercian Cycles'.

People are amazed when they find out that I have four Mercians.  My usual response usually goes something like, "I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

(All right, now you know where my priorities lie!)

I figured that there are other people who have more Mercians than I do, but I don't know any personally.  I'd like to meet them--or look at their collection, anyway!

One such person--or, more appropriately, his bikes--are the subject of today's post on the Mercian Cycles blog.

A fellow named Kyle--who goes by the nom de blog "Retrogrouch"--has just restored a 1980 Strada Speciale with period-correct parts, including a first-generation SunTour Cyclone derailleur, Simplex retrofriction levers, milled Sugino Mighty cranks with "drillium" chainrings and Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo hubs.  This Strada Speciale, he says, is his eighth Mercian.

His collection includes vintage as well as modern models--and a modern bike with vintage Campagnolo parts that looks like a vintage bike.  They're all lovely bikes, so it's hard to decide which I liked best.

If you've been following my blog, though, you can probably understand why I like his 2008 Strada Speciale track bike:



or his 2012 Vincitore, built as an urban/path bike:



or, for that matter, his second Mercian, a 1979 "Classic":



I'd love to know how Kyle decides which bike to ride.