17 May: Bicycling Isn't Just For Riding Slowly, In Street Clothes, On Bike Paths Any More

Naw, I'm not really gonna start that rant. But I did have a great ride today out in the country on the fast-looking, black Cannondale CAAD-5. I bought the frame in 2002 and it is still a great ride, albeit a bit teeth-chattering, especially with deep aero rims, on the chipsealed, segmented NM-4.

Didn't bother with the Santa Fe Century because there is so much good riding up here (so why drive 75 miles R/T to ride a bike?) and I can eat a leisurely breakfast at home. It still leaves me scratching my head that Los Alamos County does so little to promote organized rides or races, given the county's professed interest in diversifying the economy. I guess diversifying the economy is a good idea, as long as someone else does the work (LANL, the Manhattan Project National Historic Park, Bandelier, some other Federal Big Daddy, etc, etc).

As I have said before, and plenty have done it, one can cobble together quarter century, half century, metric century, and the 100 miler on roads around here that are as challenging as any. Sure, the longer routes will take cooperation with neighboring jurisdictions as used to be true with the Jemez Mountains race for the Tour de Los Alamos, but that is true for any long ride. If the road to Cuba is paved, I think that could create an out and back brevet (136 miles or 220 km) rivaling Red River in difficulty. A loop from Los Alamos through Cuba, around NM96 to Abiquiu, and back again is about 255 miles/410 km.

Zero interest. Snooze.

CAAD-5 in current dress, with ALX-320 wheelset, Michelin Race tires, FSA Energy crankset, and Shimano 9 speed Dura-Ace shifters and Ultegrra derailleurs, all cobbled together out of whatever was on sale at Bike Nashbar when I built this baby up. The stem extender was added after I herniated a disk in 2005, making the bike rideable again with less lower back flexibility.

Vintage Cannondale Catalogs