…trial bike.  I did the Summer Solstice stage race this past weekend and used a borrowed Cervelo TT rig for the 7 mile time trial stage.  Joanne, a triathlete friend of mine, was nice enough to loan it to me.  It is new, carbon, and has 650 wheels on it.  I called it my little Shetland Pony.  I slapped on a spare seat, longer stem, and some Time pedals and off I went.  Rode the course once for warm-up and seat adjustment then arrived for at my start time.  I have not done a tt in 2 years.  Borrowed bike, borrowed aero helmet… I just didn’t want to embarrass myself.  I ended up going ok - 15:50 - and was 8th on the stage.  Maybe I should practice more or buy a tt bike of my own.  The other-other John, who had crashed in the day’s earlier stage, was 25 secs. faster and got 5th for the stage.

The race was in middle Ohio not more than 1.5 hours from home, so it was nice to be able to come home each night, wash the bike, sleep in my own bed, and drink decent coffee.  The racing was good, with the exception of one team from PA who acted like complete tools (more on the next podcast), and the other-other John and I ended up 9th and 7th on the GC.

It may seem we have found a worthy successor to the over/under debate, if it weren’t for the unsightly ramifications of handlebar tape application

Here’s what we know:

-handlebar tape is the finishing touch to any quality bike build, all the way down to the color of finishing tape at the ends

-handlebar tape should be well maintained, especially if using white handlebar tape

-part of maintaining this finishing touch is keeping the spiral even, uniform, with no handlebar showing from underneath, no bunching of tape, no gaps, and no restriction of gear/shifter lever function

This image shows a common handlebar wrapping condition, one side is in tact while the opposite side is coming unravelled. Notice the right side of the bar is wrapped , if looking from the back of the bike to the front, starting the wrap from the bottom, in a counter clockwise rotation. It is still somewhat tidy in appearance. The natural tendency is for hands on the tops to rotate, like adding throttle to a motor cycle, over the top, towards the back of the bike. The right side is wrapped such that when the hands rotate in the ‘throttle’ like motion, the tape spiral is tightened.

The left side was wrapped the the opposite way. This untidy condition needs no explanation.

Left side = clockwise/right side = counter clockwise

Tune in to the next podcast to hear the Two Johns address this issue with the one solution.

We received this email today. It is incredible. I am humbled by our listeners and reminded of the greater cycling community when I read stuff like this.
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featuring the reprise of Peloton is tonight and tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Aronoff Theater in downtown Cincinnati. You always knew that bike racing was an art form. Come see an artist’s interpretation on the peloton, pacelines, crashes, race facing, sprints, and fanatical roadside fans.

…could not stop Todd from winning the local Beijing Wednesday Night World Championships. Word has it that all the Chinese guys clamor for Todd’s rear wheel and substantial draft, but he drops them faster than China’s growing population. Good job Todd.

John K. and I did a new podcast last night. It should be by this evening. I am anticipating a good weekend with the other John and his S.O. here in Cincinnati. He is coming to town to get some culture. Yours truly, and a few other cyclists, are taking the stage at the Contemporary Dance Theater’s Choreographers Festival 2008 in a piece called “Peloton.” What!!??? Cyclists on stage with modern dancers? I know, it sounds strange, but it feeds our need to show the uneducated the intricacies and quality of bicycle racing. It makes a good date night too. You can fool your lady into thinking you are really a sensitive new-age kind of guy by taking her downtown to the concert. Friday and Saturday night at the Aronoff Theater, 7:30 p.m.