Cyclist, eh?

Yesterday our city had the pleasure of hosting Yvan Martineau and the friendly team from L'Amerique à Vélo. Following a mail that was circulated by Ralph Fertig of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, a group of intrepid, curious and simply francophone showed up at the Dolphin Fountain to join our Canadian Guests in a ride around Montecito and Mountain Drive. It was a great meet and greet among cyclists from different groups and allegiances, and a great occasion to see the wonderful place where we live through the eyes of our guests.

L'Amerique à Vélo will be  a 3 episodes series broadcast on the chain Québéquois Évasion in occasion of the 2010 Tour de France. And that was also the reason for pedaling in Santa Barbara: the irresistible call of our views was only part of the story. After the group ride, I participated with a selected few  in an attempt to best Lance Armstrong's alleged climbing record of San Marcos Pass. Needless to say, no one succeeded or even came close, and I was sternly reminded by my heart monitor that it's time to start hill training again.

Another great day of international, bicycle-related fun: I can't wait to post some footage!

(photo courtesy of Ralph Fertig)

Aurora

I finally had the chance yesterday to try out the beautiful Christmas present from my wife: a 2009 Jamis Aurora.  What a magnificent bike, so different from the many I have ridden in my cycling life!

Oddly shaped, at least compared with my "other" road bike the Aurora is the Subaru Forester of bicycles: rutted roads don't scare her, it flies over everything, handles very well. In part this might be due to the 28mm. Vittoria Randonneur tires it comes equipped with, in part to the almost upright riding position of the traditional geometry frame. One thing is sure: there is nothing more comfortable than steel bikes!

Sure, it might not be the bike for sudden uphill sprints, especially at over 27lbs. "naked." However, with the generous gearing provided (30x32 is the lowest!) it's enough to point it at a hill to be sure that, sooner or later, one will get to the top. Exceptional comfort, and payload too: the bike comes with all the possible braze-ons and eyelets for cargo racks and panniers. It's my intention of make of this beauty my main transportation for my daily commute, shopping, and why not, vacation. I'm looking into my first multi-day tour, a dream I had since I was way too young to ride around by myself.

Some initial pictures below:

Turning heads in San Francisco

I'm off riding because of intense back pain, so all I can do is watch videos of other people riding. I don't endorse this kind of cycle behavior, but it sure looks fun:

YouTube - Bobby Root - Mountain biking